


Calls You Home

by Stratagem



Category: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Kirin, Qilin - Freeform, Romance, Traveling Caravan
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-06
Updated: 2018-07-04
Packaged: 2018-09-06 19:54:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 34
Words: 50,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8766790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stratagem/pseuds/Stratagem
Summary: Fire runs in their veins and calls to each other. Lien is a flickering flame while Shin-Ah is a soft silver glow. Shin-Ah doesn't expect affection, warmth, love, especially not from someone outside of his group of friends. But this woman gives him all these things willingly and happily.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Yona of the Dawn!
> 
> A/N: Takes place after the last episode of the anime. This will probably eventually include manga spoilers of some kind, but I'm not sure yet. Chapter POVs will probably shift back and forth between Shin-Ah and Lien.

The blizzard whipped snow and ice across the mountain pass, threatening to send the two hikers skidding off the side of the cliff. If their shoes hadn't been equipped with spikes and if they hadn't been used to such tough travel, they would've certainly been dead by that point.

The winter weather was being awfully wicked.

Lien dug her boots into the ground to get a firmer stance, one hand clinging to a bit of rock on the mountainside. This storm had come from nowhere. Nothing in the sky that morning had warned either her or Kyung that a blizzard was on the move, so they had thought it would be safe to go hunting and gathering on the mountainside.

The two of them were a part of the Swift Song Caravan, a trading and theatrical clan that traveled all over the continent to sell goods and perform for various nobles and villages. The caravan's winter lodgings were not far away, but it was difficult to see in the whiteout.

Bits of ice sliced at any bit of skin that was exposed, making her wish she had a full mask and not just her hood and scarf. Kyung was moving forward, so she followed in his larger footsteps, letting him help make a way for her while she pointed him in the right direction.

They made it to an outcropping of rocks that briefly shielded them from the wind, and they crouched down behind the shelter, huddling together. Kyung slung an arm around Lien's shoulder and rubbed her arm up and down.

"You okay?" he asked, dark eyes glimmering over his scarf.

She nodded. Lien rubbed her hands together and then pulled her own scarf down before wrapping her gloved hands around his. She took a deep breath of pure frozen air and focused on her fingers. Slowly they began to warm up, being fed by that mysterious fire that dwelled deep inside her. The heat seeped into her gloves and then Kyung's fingers.

He sighed and then shook his head at her, pulling his hands away. "Don't tire yourself, Lien. I'm not carrying you."

"I wouldn't ask you too," she said, pulling her scarf up over her face again. "Besides, little things like that aren't exhausting anymore. Not they used to be."

"Still, I don't want you to wear yourself out," Kyung scolded.

Lien smiled a little, her eyes crinkling over the top of her scarf. "Worrywart of a brother."

"Someone here has to stay sensible and keep their head out of the clouds." He rubbed his own arms and then stood up, offering her a hand at the same time.

Lien let him pull her to her feet so they could keep going, knowing that stopping for too long was a terrible idea. Pausing in the middle of a storm like this was a good way to lure yourself into a false sense of warmth that lulled you into a slow, gentle frozen death. She had seen a couple members of their caravan die that way when she was young, and she had no intentions of going out like that herself.

They continued hiking along the pass, Lien staying right behind Kyung. She knew it was the middle of the afternoon, but the blizzard was so thick it had darkened the sky. It looked closer to sunset than midday. If it kept up like this, anybody stuck out on the path and away from shelter tonight was going to freeze to death. They had to get back to the winter quarters before it got too much colder, since there were only shallow caves between their current location and the lodgings.

The caravan chose to pass the winter here in these mountains because they used the cold months to prepare new dramas and dances to show on the road and inventoried their trading supply. The council of elders also decided where the caravan would go during the next year, and a map was made of their route. It was a little different every year, though they often traveled to certain towns and capitals each year. Lien had a few favorites, such as Fuuga in the Wind Tribe's territory and Xing-Xan in the Khai Empire, but she liked traveling in general.

Lien was thinking about the hearth fire and a hot, hearty stew for dinner when Kyung stopped in front of her, causing her to bump into his back. "What?" she asked, peeking around him.

He flung out an arm to stop her. "Wait."

A chill that had nothing to do with the weather spread down her spine. "What's wrong? Kyung…" she said as she pushed past his arm, glancing up at him before looking around.

A person was standing in the middle of the path. Or at least she was pretty sure it was a person. Tall and slender, he was dressed all in blue and he had a horned half mask on, covering the top half of his face. Long fur spilled from the mask down his back, and the wind caught at the strands and played with it. One of his hands was resting on the sword he wore. He looked like a snow monster from some kind of ancient legend, ready to challenge them to either a fight to the death or a game of wits.

Lien, however, wasn't very afraid of other monsters. Not when she was a beast herself.

"Hello?" she said as she pushed past Kyung's arm, taking a step toward the stranger. Kyung reached out and grabbed her wrist, keeping her from going any farther. Paranoid brother. "Are you all right?"

The man simply stared for a long moment, taking enough time that Lien thought he hadn't heard her. She pulled her arm out of Kyung's grasp and took a couple more steps toward the stranger.

"Lien…"

"It's not safe to be out here on the mountain right now," Lien said louder, as if the man couldn't tell that being out in a blizzard was dangerous.

"We need shelter," he finally said, "Can you…help us?"

Lien smiled even though he wouldn't be able to see the expression beyond her thick scarf. "Of course." Though she didn't know who he meant by 'we,' the Swift Song Caravan didn't turn away people in need.


	2. Chapter 2

"What are you doing out here, anyways?"

Shin-Ah glanced back at the girl as she and the young man followed him to where he had left the others. "Traveling." That was the simplest answer for a longer explanation.

The group had been on their way to a small village on the other side of the mountain range that was supposed to be having trouble with local bandits. The people in the last town had told them about the mountain paths, but their directions had become confusing once the group had gotten to the mountain range.

There were too many paths, and even Yoon couldn't decide exactly which path they should take. He had chosen one that seemed to fit the directions as closely as possible, but while they had been hiking, the blizzard had blown in from the north.

Everyone had tried to press through, but the freezing temperatures and vicious wind had finally forced them to find shelter in a shallow cave. That hadn't been enough to keep them completely out of the weather. Hak, Yoon, and Jae-Ha's attempts to start a fire had all petered out, and Shin-Ah couldn't stand to see Yona and his friends shivering in the cold.

He had decided to go scout the area just to see if he could find a better place to get out of the storm. Leaving Ao behind with Yona, he had crossed over a few paths before he eventually found the girl and the man out on the mountain.

He hadn't expected to find anyone else out in the storm, so seeing the girl and the man had surprised him. At first, he had thought that he might have to fight them, but apparently they were friendly. Or at least they were on the surface. He had told them about the others, and the two of them had agreed to take the group somewhere they could get out of the storm.

At this point, Shin-Ah was starting to lose feeling in his fingers and toes, and the biting wind was driving its way through his cloak. He longed for a warm fireside, but he pushed his wants away, like he was used to doing. Throughout his childhood, there had been many things he would have liked to have or have more of, like food and warmth, but he had grown accustomed to going without. He would be warm soon enough, if these people were telling the truth, and he was more concerned about his friends than himself.

"You're lucky we saw you," the man behind him grumbled, "Most people who get caught out here in a blizzard aren't found until the spring thaw."

The girl laughed, the sound bright against the bitter wind. "Don't mind Kyung, he gets grumpy when he doesn't catch anything on a hunt."

"That's not my fault, you were making too much noise."

"Foraging isn't noisy, so that's not even a good excuse."

"Yet somehow you make it so loud…"

"I do not."

Shin-Ah found their teasing banter to be somewhat calming. It reminded him of his own friends, who almost always seemed to be bickering over one thing or another. Still, he was worried about the others so he kept up a quick pace.

"Hey, furball," the young man called Kyung said, "We need to know your name."

"I'm Lien," the girl offered when Shin-Ah didn't automatically answer, "And he's Kyung. We're with the Swift Song Caravan."

Shin-Ah weighed the situation. If they were telling him all of this and showing his group the way to their shelter, they must have been confident in their abilities to defend themselves seeing how this could easily be a trap he set for them. That, or they were very trusting people. He had a feeling that the former was the truth.

After a long while, he finally answered her. "Shin-Ah."

"Well, that didn't take forever."

"Kyung, be nice."

"I honestly thought he forgot how to speak."

"I said be nice!"

It seemed that Kyung would probably get along well with Hak. They both used a similar kind of sarcasm. Shin-Ah led them to the mouth of the shallow cave where his friends were waiting for them and motioned for them to wait. He didn't want his fellow dragons or Hak to attack Kyung and Lien.

His friends were huddled together in a pile of cloaks and blankets when he peeked his head into the cave's mouth. It was easy to assume that Yona was buried somewhere near the middle so she at least could keep warm. Hak lifted his head and Shin-Ah could see Yona curled up against his chest.

"Shin-Ah!" Kija said, his silver-haired head popping up from the group.

"Welcome back," Hak said, his voice gruff, "Find anything?"

Shin-Ah nodded. He could feel Lien hovering near his elbow, so he moved back so she could get through.

"Hi," she said, bowing her head a little to his pile of friends. They all sat up a little, obviously taken aback by the appearance of a stranger. "We have a place you all can stay until this blizzard passes over. It's not far from here, and the rent's cheap."

"How much? Yoon's muffled voice asked. Shin-Ah spotted the edge of the boy's cloak, but Yoon seemed to be hidden entirely underneath it.

"You have to watch our caravan's drama and dance practices and give us honest feedback," Lien said, "And help us do inventory. And maybe a couple other chores. In exchange, we'll give you food and shelter." She shrugged. "See? Pretty cheap."

"Depends on the quality of the practices," Jae-Ha said, his teeth chattering.

"We'll take it," Hak said. His eyes were on Yona, who was nodding and looking eager at the idea of finally being warm again. He stood up, pulling the princess to her feet.

"Food! Yes!" Zeno exclaimed as he jumped up, "Shin-Ah, you're amazing."

"Thank you," Yona said, giving Shin-Ah a smile and then bowing her head to Lien. "We're happy to go with you."

Good. Now everyone would be safe again. As his friends began to get up and get ready to go, Shin-Ah swayed, feeling sleepy and unsteady now that his mission was complete.

"Hey, Shin-Ah, you feeling okay?" Jae-Ha asked. His voice sounded far away and faint.

Beside him, Lien said something, her honey-brown eyes dark as she looked at him with concern, but he couldn't understand what she was saying. His vision went dark around the edges, and he crumpled, everything fading as he fell to the ground.


	3. Chapter 3

Warm.

That was the first thing Shin-Ah thought as he stirred into wakefulness. He was warm again, and he could feel blankets and furs tucked in around him. A piece of soft fluff was tickling his chin, but he realized that it was just Ao, who seemed to be laying on his chest with her tail resting on his neck.

Someone touched his forehead, delicate, cool fingers resting against his skin. The hand traveled to his cheek, a thumb running across his cheekbone.

His hand snapped out and caught the slender fingers that were touching him. It was more of a reflex than anything.

He opened his eyes, blinking in the dim candlelight, and saw a young woman leaning over him. He recognized the almond-shaped honey brown eyes, but now he could see the face those kind eyes belonged to.

The girl, Lien, had seafoam green hair that was feathery around her face and traveled into loose waves over her shoulders. Her face was heart-shaped, a little like Yona's, and there was an otherworldly beauty to her gentle, sweet features.

Those dark golden eyes of hers lit up as their gazes met. "Oh…wow…"

That was when he realized he was staring, plus he was still holding her hand, and on top of all that his mask was gone. He automatically released her, smacked his palms to his eyes, and rolled to his side, afraid of hurting her with a glance.

"Oops, sorry!" Lien said, "I forgot about the mask. Yoon took it off when we brought you here, and he said you'd probably want it, but..." He felt something silky being pressed into his hand. "Maybe you could wear that instead for now? It'd be more comfortable than the mask while you're sick, and you can still see through it."

It was a long strip of cloth, and when he opened his eyes, he saw that it was about the same shade of blue as his robe. Which, as it would happen, was gone at the moment. He was in a loose shirt and trousers, and he wondered where his robe had gone off to.

Sitting up, he tied the sheer cloth around his eyes, but that simple act seemed to take all the energy out of him. "Thank you."

Lien smiled at him. "You're welcome." She stood up, a graceful, quick action. He wondered for a moment if she danced in her troupe's performances. "I'll go get Yoon, he asked me to get him if you woke up. He went to go help with dinner."

She paused at the doorway to the room, her hand resting on the smooth wood. "You know, your eyes are really amazing. You shouldn't cover them." Before he could protest, she pushed aside the cloth that covered the doorway and was gone.

Shin-Ah laid back against the mat, his cursed eyes looking up the ceiling. Ao scurried from the perch she had temporarily taken on his shoulder to rest on his stomach, curling up in a little ball. Lien didn't understand. The others must not have told her about his power yet. When she knew what his eyes could do, she wouldn't be so quick to compliment them or even want to see them again. She would be properly afraid.

He was starting to nod off again when the cloth over the door flew back and Kija, Yona, and Yoon appeared.

"Shin-Ah!" Kija exclaimed, and suddenly he was kneeling by Shin-Ah's pallet and hugging Shin-Ah to him so tightly that Shin-Ah felt like he couldn't breathe. "Don't worry us like that."

Yona hugged him from the other side, pressing her forehead into his shoulder for a brief moment. "Agreed!"

Ao leapt back and forth between the visitors, unable to decide who to stay with.

He hadn't meant to worry anyone. He hadn't even realized that he was tired and exhausted and not feeling well until it was too late.

"Hey, don't crowd the patient," Yoon said. Leaning forward, his hands on his knees, he peered into Shin-Ah's face. "Nice blindfold. How are you feeling? I bet you're still weak, you silly beast. You had a fever for days."

"Even dragons can become ill," Kija scolded, "You have to take care of yourself."

"I'm sorry," Shin-Ah said, his cheeks growing red with embarrassment. The last thing he wanted was to be a burden on his friends.

"It's all right," Yona said. She smiled up at him and gave him another hug. "We're just glad you're feeling better."

"Jae-ha, Zeno and the Thunder Beast are happy, too, but they're busy doing chores," Kija said. His face fell. "They have _a lot_ of chores for us to do."

"You're just not used to it, lazy dragon," Yoon said, "We do get to watch the rehearsals for free."

"You'll love it, Shin-Ah," Yona said, her hands resting on one of his, "They have shadow puppet shows and plays and the very best dancers."

Shin-Ah looked at each other his friends, feeling rather overwhelmed, and then settled his gaze on Yoon. "How long have I been asleep?"

"About four days," Yoon said, "You were really sick. Kija cried over you at least three times."

"It's a traumatic experience when you're concerned for one of your brothers," Kija retorted, "I'd do the same if it was you in Shin-Ah's place."

"Uh-huh, sure," Yoon said, his eyebrows raised skeptically. "I've been taking care of her, and that Lien girl you found has been helping, too, especially when they need me to cook." Yoon smirked a little. "They really appreciate my cooking around here."

"Is Lien a healer?" Shin-Ah asked.

Yona shook her head. "Not really. She's a dancer. She's been giving me some lessons."

At that, both Yoon and Kija glanced away, seeming far more interested in anything else besides addressing Yona's dancing ability. Shin-Ah had been right then, Lien's gracefulness came from dancing. That made sense to him. He hadn't seen many people dance, except in some of the villages they had visited, but she just…seemed like a dancer.

"You need more rest," Yoon said in his normal firm and stern tone that he took when someone was sick or injured, "You'll definitely live, but you need to sleep."

"Feel better, Shin-Ah," Yona said, leaning forward and giving him a quick kiss on the temple. Both Yoon and Kija stared for a moment, and then Kija stood up.

"Yes, get better quickly, Shin-Ah," he said.

Outside, someone started yelling. "White Snake! Where'd you go!?"

Kija's face fell and his hands balled into fists. "That's not my name!" He whirled out of the room, his white cloak swirling behind him.

Yona gave a little laugh. "The kids around here have taken to calling him White Snake after they heard Hak call him that. Kija's not pleased."

"He'll survive," Yoon said. He headed to the door with Yona following behind him. "Get some sleep, Shin-Ah."

When his friends were gone, Shin-Ah curled up on the pallet again, facing the doorway. In one of the other rooms, someone was singing softly, and he drifted off to the melody of the tune.


	4. Chapter 4

Dragons and princesses and legends and captivating golden eyes…

Lien let her thoughts swirl around in her head like pieces of bright silk on the wind. Anyone who lived or traveled through Kouka Kingdom knew about the story of King Hiryuu and the Four Dragons who protected and served him. It was an ancient story, one that people loved to hear, so their caravan had actually performed plays and songs and dances based on the tale.

It seemed that lately legends had come to life to do chores around the caravan's winter quarters.

The only ones who knew the full story behind the newcomers was the caravan's leader, Milady Xi, as well as Kyung and Lien, who had been allowed to sit in on the meeting between the group and their own leader. Yona herself had been the one to tell them the story, about how she had left the castle after King Il's death and found the dragons and started traveling. There were pieces missing from her account, Lien knew, but everyone was allowed to keep their secrets.

Everyone was pretending to not know who Princess Yona was, but quite a few of the older members of the caravan recognized the princess and her bodyguard, the mighty Thunder Beast. The other four were more mysterious, but their powers and gifts gave them away soon enough. It was practically impossible to hide that hand of Kija's and Jae-Ha didn't even bother to keep from jumping around and flying about the caravan's little winter village. Zeno was assumed to be the yellow dragon because of his association with the other three, and the last one, Shin-Ah…

Those eyes. She wasn't going to forget them anytime soon. So warm and startled and beautiful…

Lien had volunteered to help Yoon take care of Shin-Ah since she felt somewhat responsible for the whole group. He was staying in her family's house along with Yoon, Yona, and Hak, which meant it was a little crowded. However, Yoon's extreme usefulness made up for any discomfort, and Hak and Yona were always willing to help out.

Yona was currently sharing Lien's tiny closet of a room, and the close proximity was quickly bringing the girls together. Honestly, Lien was surprised she didn't feel more intimidated by sharing a room with royalty, but Yona was so down to earth and friendly, she didn't seem like a blue blood. Plus, Lien always had a strange feeling when she was around the redhead. It was a content, settled feeling, as if she was finally were she belonged.

What was that supposed to mean?

"Where's your head at, Lien?"

Lien looked up from folding laundry and realized that she had only gotten through half of the first basket, and there were five more baskets to go. Oops…

Kyung hovered over her, his hands on his hips, but before she could make an excuse or he could scold her, Han-jae leapt past him and landed in one of the baskets, toppling it over. The five-year-old ball of boyish energy emerged from the laundry, looking pleased with himself.

"Lien!" he exclaimed and flopped over onto his sister's lap, "Kyung's hurting me!"

"I am not," Kyung growled, "They're called chores, not torture, but that doesn't mean they're fun. I'm still not hurting you."

"He's killing meee," Han-jae whined before burrowing his head into Lien's shoulder like he was a toddler again.

Kyung flung his hands into the air. "Why am I cursed with siblings like these?"

"You deserve us!" Han-jae yelled back at him.

Lien laughed and hugged Han-jae close, squeezing him tight. "Why don't you get Jala to help you?"

"She's busy staring at Hak and Droopy Eyes," Han-jae mumbled.

"That doesn't surprise me," Lien said, rolling her eyes. Her younger sister was beautiful, kind-hearted and absolutely infatuated with the young men that had come into their winter camp. She refused to talk to them and turned ten shades of red whenever one of them talked to her, but she did end up sitting around and staring at them for long periods of time. Which wasn't disconcerting at allll.

"I'd like to point out that I'm the only one actually doing chores around here," Kyung said, arms crossed over his chest again, "Me and Yoon. I'm trading all three of you out for him."

"Fine by me," Han-jae said, flopping back into the laundry, "We can go on adventures and stuff, and Yoon can do all our chores."

"If you're switching out with me, you'll still have to do chores." Yoon stood in the doorway, looking somewhat amused.

"He's the Mother!" Zeno declared, popping up behind Yoon. Both of them were carrying clothes baskets, which reminded Lien that she was way behind in her folding.

The look on Yoon's face said that he was used to being called Mother but didn't particularly appreciate it. The two boys carried the baskets over and set them down beside Lien, and Han-jae sprang out of Lien's arms to tackle the yellow-haired dragon.

"Zeno!" he squealed as Zeno toppled over, landing on the thick carpets.

"Han-jae!" Zeno tickled the little boy, getting quite a peal of giggles out of him.

Yoon sat down beside Lien and started folding clothes. "You've gotten really behind."

"She was daydreaming," Kyung said, heading over to rescue Zeno from Han-jae. Instead, the two of them yanked the young man down, and Han-jae seized his chance for revenge by tickling his brother mercilessly.

"Get off me!"

"Never!"

Lien grinned at her brothers and then looked back toward Yoon. "I wasn't daydreaming exactly…I was just thinking."

"How about you think less and fold more, then," Yoon said in a deadpan tone. He had already folded half a basketful of things, which put her previous work to shame. She blushed and started folding faster, trying to keep up with him and his deft, agile pretty boy hands. Was there nothing Yoon couldn't do well?

Together they got through the laundry quickly, especially once Zeno and Kyung decided to help out as well. Han-jae was useless when it came to folding, but he entertained them with songs and dances and reciting his small parts from the plays he was supposed to be in. When he finished acting out a scene about getting eaten by a lion, he rolled over toward them and leaned against Lien.

"Everyone performs in your caravan, don't they?" Yoon asked, placing the last shirt in the basket.

"Yes, in some way or other," Lien answered. Whether they played music, performed onstage, or did background work, everyone worked on the productions they put on in the cities and towns throughout their region of the world. Young, old, it didn't matter. Everyone had a job to do in the Swift Song caravan.

"We should put on a performance for you," Zeno said with a grin. "Jae-Ha knows how to play a couple instruments and we can make Kija and Yoon sing. And Hak could do a sword dance."

"I'm not singing," Yoon said, "Though I have a beautiful voice."

"You can sing, then!"

Lien laughed as Yoon tried to argue and Zeno playfully ignored his protests. While the caravan didn't have much to offer these people, they were trying to help out and fit in as much as they could. It would be sad to see them leave once the weather improved, though that was the way it was when you lived in a caravan. You visited a place, made friends, left, returned seasons later. People always came and went in her life, only her family was steady and constant.

So why did it feel like a hollowness was growing deep within her whenever she thought about Yona and the others leaving without her?


	5. Chapter 5

After all those days of simply laying in bed and recovering, Shin-Ah was finally allowed to get up and move around the house. He was under strict orders from Yoon to stay inside if at all possible, since the days were bitterly cold up in the mountains. No one wanted him to get sick again.

Ao rode on Shin-Ah's shoulder as he stepped out from the little room he had been sharing with Yoon and Hak, cautious in this strange house. It was a large circular structure made entirely from thick wooden beams that held in the warmth, and the rooms were all arranged a central space.

It was also seemingly full of people.

The circular space in middle of the house was overflowing with caravan members sitting around, working, chatting. There was a table where people were sewing and stitching, and in another area, a man and a teenage boy were carving wooden swords. A few others were cooking around a fire place in the middle of the room. The place smelled vaguely of spices from the Kai Empire, wood shavings, and musty winter clothes.

He spotted Yona and Yoon perched on a few cushions, a large map in front of them. On Yona's other side, the girl that had brought them here, Lien, was sitting along with Zeno and both of them occasionally pointed at the map and put in a comment.

Before he could walk over to them, Shin-Ah was nearly run over by a small green-clad boy and a gaggle of other children who were chasing after him, all of them laughing and shrieking.

"Hi Mr. Sleepy Blue Hairy Man!" yelled the first little boy.

"Hi Mr. Hairy Blue Sleepy Man!" the others echoed in chorus before they dashed through the front door and out into the white winter landscape.

"Don't be rude to the lazy boy. He can't help that he's sickly!" a middle-aged woman called from the sewing table but she was too late. They were already gone, letting the door slap shut behind them.

Someone gave an embarrassed chuckle. "Mama Ro, that was rude, too…"

Shin-Ah blinked at the sudden bright blast of sunshine against the snow, but his eyes rapidly adjusted. He had exchanged the silk strip for his mask again yet he hadn't discarded the silk Lien had given him. Instead, he wrapped it around his arm, just in case he needed it again.

"So it looks someone's finally decided to officially join the living," the woman said with a grin. Her face was lined with the wrinkles that came from smiling often and silver streaks marked her otherwise jet black hair. "Come and get something to eat and get stronger so we can put you to work."

Shin-Ah lingered by the door, wishing he could just walk straight to his friends. He still wasn't used to dealing with people outside of his group, and sometimes figuring out when they were joking or being serious was difficult. It was easier with people he knew…

"Give him a moment, Mama Ro," said one of the other women at the table, her voice gentle and soft, "Let him adjust."

"Life with the Swift Song Caravan isn't easy if you're not born to it!" declared a girl who was sitting at the table.

"We're a loud bunch, aren't we, Yoon?" asked a girl near the cooking fire, batting her eyelashes at the young genius.

Yoon blushed and made a face. "It's not that different from traveling with these people..." He waved a hand at Yona and Zeno, who didn't look ashamed at all.

"He's being nice," someone else put in, "He's just as overwhelmed as you are, Blue Hairy Sleepy Man."

"That one's named Shin-Ah."

"Zeno and Yona like us being loud though, don't you?"

"Yeah, of course they do!"

"They have to say they do, otherwise we'll toss them out."

"Don't tease!"

"Yeah, they'd freeze to death out there, and that'd be annoying since we've been feeding them. All that food, wasted!"

"Hush, you lot," said the middle-aged woman, Mama Ro. She didn't raise her voice, but she didn't have to. The others quieted down when she spoke; Shin-Ah assumed that meant she was the one in charge of the caravan. She gestured over at Yona, Yoon, Zeno, and Lien. "Go on. Lien, get him some food, would you?"

From in between Zeno and Yona, Lien stood up and gave Shin-Ah a small smile before picking her way through the crowd to get to the food. Shin-Ah took his chance to go through the maze of people and duck down beside Yona, sitting on the floor beside her cushion. Ao jumped from his shoulder to Yona's and snuggled against her cheek.

"How are you feeling?" Yona asked.

"Better," he said, "Thank you."

"Take it easy and don't do anything stupid or strenuous," Yoon said, glancing over at him, "They were joking about making you work, but don't decide to do something on your own to pay them back. Got it?"

"Yes." Shin-Ah nodded. He would have to find some way to repay these people for their kindness, especially Lien. She had let them into the village and her house when she could have left them out on the mountains.

Yoon turned his attention back to the map. "We're trying to figure out the easiest way to get to Uru," he said to Shin-Ah, mentioning the town they were trying to get to when they got stuck in the blizzard, "Lien and Kyung have told us about a few paths out of the mountains, but we have to wait for the weather to improve."

"It'll probably be another week before we can leave," Zeno said, "Cold snaps usually last for at least a couple weeks here." He smiled and leaned back against more cushions. "It's nice, isn't it? They're funny."

Shin-Ah always assumed that Zeno traveled a lot before he had joined their group, but sometimes he wondered how far he had gone. He always seemed to know at least a little bit about wherever they were, and he was smarter and wiser than he seemed at first.

"And they're kind," Yona added, "They haven't asked for anything besides help with chores, and they feed us _so_ much. And there's the entertainment." Her eyes lit up with an internal flame of determination. "I'm going to learn how to do at least one dance, like that one you do with Lien, Zeno."

Shin-Ah looked at Zeno, only a little surprised that he had been dancing with Lien. They all knew that the Yellow Dragon knew many of the traditional dances of Kouka Kingdom.

Zeno grinned at him. "We'll show you!" He sprang to his feet and clapped his hands. "Mama Ro, can we have rehearsal time? The drum dance, so we can show Shin-Ah?"

"Oooh, please, please!" some of the people cried, and when the dark-haired woman nodded, a few of them jumped up and started moving furniture and work projects out of the way. They created a space beside the fire and pulled out a set of drums while Lien hurried back over to their group, her pretty honey brown eyes wide.

"Zeno…" she started, but he scooped the plate out of her hands and gave it to Shin-Ah.

"Shin-Ah needs to see," he said, "And Zeno wants to fill in for Yung while he can."

As Zeno pulled Lien over to the bare spot, Yoon leaned over toward Shin-Ah. "Yung is one of the carvan members. He usually does this dance with Lien, but he broke his ankle a couple weeks ago so since Zeno knows this dance, he's been helping Lien practice while Yung can't." He rolled his eyes and smirked. "Granted, Zeno honestly likes this dance and would probably be really upset if Yung suddenly got better."

Shin-Ah nodded and chewed on a steamed bun as a few musicians started to play, filling the room with the steady beat of drums. The sound reverberated in his chest, stirring something inside of him. Maybe Blue Dragons liked drums…

"Zeno, we should wait until later," Lien was saying, but the yellow-haired dragon shook his head.

"No, now." He smiled a little. "I really want to show Shin-Ah. Please?"

Lien sighed but her feet were already moving back and forth, light and graceful and agile. She was lithe and weightless, each movement as smooth as river flowing over age-old stones. Shin-Ah couldn't take his eyes off her as she started to spin around Zeno, each step matching with the drumbeats of the softer, higher drums.

Zeno, on the other hand, was moving faster than her, every step bold and certain. The deeper, louder bass beats were his, but neither of them was the leader. They were equals in this dance, each passing by the other, clasping hands, moving on. Sometimes they leaned on each other, but they were quick to part.

"It's a fire and water dance," Yona whispered beside him, "The Fire and Water tribes used to perform it at festivals a long time ago, back after they were on the brink of a civil war and then reconciled. It's about two lovers, one from each tribe."

"Beautiful," Shin-Ah said softly, his eyes on Lien and her serene motions.

Zeno made a misstep, and the two nearly collided, causing them to both erupt into laughter and for the drummers to falter. Zeno spun Lien around once and then raced over to his group. Shin-Ah was on his feet practically before he was aware of Zeno latching onto him and yanking him up.

"Come on, we'll teach you. Zeno's tired, you can take my place."

"Oh…" He didn't know anything about dancing! And he certainly couldn't practice with Lien, she was a professional, and Zeno was making a mistake, and –

"Play the Quartz Step, you lot," Mama Ro called out, "Make it easy on him."

The drumming started again, a song from the Earth Tribe this time. A few of the other teenagers around the room got up and moved to the empty space, all of them stamping out a beat.

"Don't tire yourself out," Lien said as Zeno nearly pushed Shin-Ah into her.

"Teach him, teach him," Zeno said, waving his hands at Lien.

She gestured to Shin-Ah's feet. "For you it's step-step, clap, right-left-spin, clap." She made it seem so easy as she twirled around him, her light blue skirt whipping about her legs. "Since it's an Earth Tribe song, that's all you have to do. Their songs are always easier to dance to."

Shin-Ah nodded to her and tried to follow along, but he was slower and far less sure of himself than she was. He kept looking down at his feet, or he did until she took his hands and pulled him off-step.

"Just dance," she said, grinning as he looked up at her, "Don't bother with the steps. Just move."

He had no idea how to do that, but something about her sweet smile made him want to try.


	6. Chapter 6

"Let's see, if we marry them, they can't go anywhere."

"Oh, now I like that plan. I choose that green-haired Jae-Ha, he's so hot you could fry eggs on his chest."

"I'm on board! I think Kija is a catch. So pure."

Lien smiled to herself as the other dancers stretched and chattered amongst themselves during their rehearsal break. They were in another one of the winter buildings that the clan used, a more spacious one that included an area that had been tunneled out of the mountainside. It created a nice, open space where they could easily perform, whether it was acting, dancing, sing/ing or acrobatics.

In one corner, the musicians were practicing under the strict eye of Garuda, the music master of the clan. He was could be quite a harsh task master, though his techniques were effective even if the musicians lived in respectful fear of him and his staff. While Lien watched, someone played a sour note and out whooshed the staff, catching the errant pipe player on the shoulder with a warning tap.

"No one can pick the blue-haired one though," one of the other girls said loud enough to recapture Lien's attention. She turned to find her friend Pax giving her a wicked grin. "That one belongs to Lien."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Lien said, though she could feel her cheeks growing hot. All right, so yes, Shin-Ah was attractive and brave and loyal, but she didn't know much about him besides that. On top of that, her mother and father would be crushed if she left the caravan, even though Mama Ro had warned them for years that people like Lien usually eventually left. It was in their nature. "And you shouldn't claim them, they're people…"

"We're just joking," her other best friend Keri, said as she tossed her long brown hair and smirked. "But you have to admit, he kept staring at you yesterday."

"That's because we were dancing," Lien protested, "You usually look at the person you're dancing with."

"That's another thing," Pax said. She poked a slim finger into Lien's shoulder blade. "You're the only one he danced with. I asked him to dance with me, and he ran right back to his group. So cruel, I'm forever heartbroken."

"He was probably tired." Who wouldn't be, after spending so much time in bed and then being tossed into a dance? "I dance with Zeno too, and I've danced with him more often."

"Aww, Zeno!" Keri and Pax chorused together, making the other girls laugh.

"He's so adorable, but if we have to give you away, we prefer to give you to Shin-Ah," Pax said with a solemn nod. "He seems more reliable."

"Our sweet little Lien, all grown up and moving on with her life." Keri pretended to brush a tear away. "We haven't even started stitching her wedding dress."

"You were just talking about how you didn't want _them_ to go, but now you're getting rid of me?" Lien said. She picked up one of the scarves they danced with and fluttered it in Keri and Pax's faces. "You're awful, terrible friends."

"Nooo," Pax said, pretending to be defeated by the scarf. She dropped languidly to the floor and twitched, her eyes half-closed. "My last wish is for you to marry a tall, beautiful blue-haired man and have gorgeous teal-haired children, you green-haired killer."

Lien nudged her with her foot. "Sorry, your last wish is denied."

A second later, Pax reached up and yanked Lien down so that she could tickle her mercilessly, with Keri joining in. "Say you like him!" "Admit your undying love!" "Be truthful!" "Say it!" Their dance costumes waved around, creating a blur of silver and white, with Lien laughing and trying to escape while Keri held her down and Pax tortured her.

The door to the building flew open, letting in the harsh frozen wind. It swirled inside, bringing snowflakes, ice, and Kyung. "Lien!" he called, interrupting the laughing and the music.

She was instantly on her feet, recognizing the urgency in her older brother's tone. She stepped over Pax and Keri and rushed to his side. "Come on, Mama Ro needs you. It's Xau-Xau and Daen, they were out in the snow too long," he said as grabbed her cloak and tossed it to her while she hurried to take off her dance slippers and put on her boots.

Worry and frustration showed through his expression, and she knew there were multiple reasons for it. For one thing, he was probably concerned for Xau-Xau and Daen. The two of them must have snuck off that morning to try and find food for the clan; they were only eleven, but they were always trying to help out in the most reckless of ways. On the other hand, he didn't like it when she used her gifts, which was doubtlessly what Mama Ro wanted her to do.

Behind them, the others were listening intently, practice put on hold for the moment until Master Garuda waved his staff around. "Get back to work!"

Kyung pulled Lien's hood up around her face and ushered her out into the biting wind. They dashed across the small courtyard, moving toward their home. Their mother and Mama Ro, who happened to be their aunt, were the healers out of the group, dealing with injuries from the line of the work they were in as well as any other issue that popped up. Frostbite was common while they were at their winter quarters, and to heal that more quickly and efficiently, they almost always brought in Lien.

The room was full of worried noise as they rushed through, and Xau-Xau and Daen's parents were hovering near the back room where the boys had been taken. Lien gently touched Daen's mother's arm and gave her a small encouraging smile before stepping inside the room, leaving Kyung at the doorway.

Her mother, Mama Ro, and Yoon were there, kneeling beside the two boys. Lien hesitated, seeing him there, but Mama Ro beckoned her over. "Come here, you," she said. Lien nodded and walked over, settling beside Yoon on Daen's right side.

With blackened fingers and toes, it was easy to see the boys had been out in the freezing weather far longer than they should have been. Most likely, everyone had assumed they had been in a different building when in fact, they were outside. She wondered who had found them out there.

"Sorry, Lien," Daen mumbled, a sweat breaking on his forehead, drenching his dark golden hair. He tried to wriggle his fingers, which got him a gentle swat on the wrist from Mama Ro.

"Stay still," she said, and her eyes flicked from Lien to Yoon and back around before she turned to Lien's mother. "Sandara. We could use the boy's help. But you know what that means, so it's your choice."

Lien's mother looked over at her. "Lien?"

"It's all right, Mama," she said, bowing her head for a moment. She had never shown her gift to anyone outside of her clan, but something inside of her told her to trust Yoon. The four dragons trusted him, and so did Yona and Hak, so he must have been good at keeping secrets.

"What's going on?" Yoon said, raising his eyebrows, "Shouldn't we be working?"

"Go ahead and help us take off their wet clothes," Lien's mother said, "Lien will tend to their frostbite."

"And don't tell us what to do, boy," Mama Ro scolded as she started yanking off Xau-Xau's hooded vest.

"Ro, be a little kinder," Lien's mother said as Xau-Xau flopped about, looking like an ill-handled puppet.

Mama Ro tossed his vest to the side. "He shouldn't have been so stupid and wandered off in the snow."

"Got lost," mumbled Xau-Xau, "Sorry…"

Yoon was working on removing Daen's soaked shirt, but Lien could see him keeping an eye on her out of the corner of his keen eyes. There wouldn't be any hiding it from him, but years of being told to shield her gift from outsiders and knowing the consequences of them finding out was hard to overcome. Still, Daen and Xau-Xau needed her.

Closing her eyes to concentrate and also to ignore Yoon, she took a deep breath and called on the heat, the fire, that resided in her blood. It was a strange, unnatural power, one that Mama Ro had explained multiple times to her and the others in her clan. It moved beneath her skin, rushing down her veins and into her hands, causing them to warm up as she took Daen's blackened toes in her hands. Her hands turned white and gave off as subtle glow as they grew warmer, and internally she struggled to maintain the same temperature. She seriously didn't want to accidentally set Daen on fire, which was possible if she wasn't exercising control.

She felt something move close to her hand, and she slitted one eye open to see Yoon letting his hand hover over hers. "You're giving off heat."

Lien squeezed her eyes shut again and nodded. There was a flash of old memories, people calling her names, ropes around her wrists, her mother's warnings repeated over and over again.

"How?" Yoon's tone was curious, not at all disgusted. He tapped his finger against the back of her hand and immediately lifted it away. "How is that possible? The room's getting warmer, too."

"We'll explain later," Mama Ro said, "Right now, let's focus on the boys."

As a team, they worked on heating up the two little hooligans, eventually getting the story of what had happened out of them. They had thought that the clan was low on meat, so they had gone out that morning looking for game. They had been scouring the mountainside when they accidentally crashed through the ice over a little brook. While not in danger of drowning, they had instantly been at risk of freezing to death. They had been on their way back when Jae-Ha had showed up out of nowhere. That's all they remembered before being back at the village and in the back room of Sandara's home.

"Shin-Ah saw them," Yoon said quietly, "From the village." The two boys were wrapped up in blankets with warming rocks settled around them, and the room was already toasty from Lien's gift. Their parents had been in to check on them, but when they saw that the boys were out of danger and doing fine, they had gone back to work, leaving the two under Mama Ro's careful gaze.

"It seems we all have a lot to explain to each other," Lien's mother said. She reached out and touched Lien's hand for a brief moment.

Lien gave a tired smile. She was sitting in between the two boys, giving off heat like a furnace. She had shirked off her dance costume and was wearing just her undershift, to Yoon's slight embarrassment. That was the heat simply exuded from her instead of getting trapped in her dance costume. Using her gift for this long made her sleepy, since it drew energy out of her.

"We want to thank Mr. Jae-Ha and Blue Hairy Sleepy Man," Xau-Xau muttered. His dark eyes were peeking over the edge of the blanket.

"You can thank them later," Lien's mother said, brushing Xau-Xau's hair out of his face. She looked up as the cloth was pushed back from the doorway, revealing Jae-Ha and Shin-Ah behind him.

"We don't mean to intrude, but we did want to check on them," Jae-Ha said, staying in the doorway, "And since I heard our names…"

"Thank you, Mr. Jae-Ha and Hairy Blue Man," Xau-Xau said, waving his hand.

Shin-Ah gave a small wave back, and then glanced at Lien. A blush suddenly dashed across his face, and he back-pedaled into the main room, disappearing from the doorway. Oh. Right. She was in her shift. Lien knew she should have been more embarrassed, since it was one small step away from her underwear, but she was too tired to care very much.

Jae-Ha, however, didn't seem fazed by her attire. He just smirked at her and turned his attention to the boys. "You're welcome, kid," Jae-Ha told Xau-Xau before looking at Yoon. "You look tired, Mother."

"I've been working," Yoon retorted, "Somebody brought me something to deal with immediately, so now I'm here."

"You should get some rest," Lien's mother said, "You too, Lien."

"I'd rather have answers," Yoon said.

Not her. Lien would rather fall asleep right where she was. Ugh, getting up was a chore. Lien nodded and stumbled to her feet, but before she could take a shuffling step, she was swept up into firm arms.

"I'll take the lady to her room," Jae-Ha said, and he grinned down at her, "It's only the chivalrous thing to do for such a pretty girl."

"If you try anything, I'll skin you alive," Mama Ro said.

Lien didn't hear what Jae-Ha replied with since she was already asleep, her arms wrapped around the green dragon's neck.


	7. Chapter 7

Shin-Ah was still hovering near the doorway when Jae-Ha came back out with Lien in his arms. She had been fine a moment ago, what was wrong with her? He stepped toward the green dragon, his concerned gaze on the girl he was holding.

"She's fine, just tired," Jae-Ha said, probably sensing his worry through the link the dragons shared. "She overdid it."

Shin-Ah nodded, though he didn't totally understand. She looked delicate, but she had seemed stronger than she appeared so taking care of those two boys shouldn't have exhausted her so much. Hmm. There was a lock of light green hair laying across her face, and he felt the need to brush it back but he couldn't touch her. Not without permission.

"Lien!" someone shouted across the room, and suddenly a pair of girls was standing on either side of Jae-Ha, peering at Lien. Shin-Ah recognized them as a couple of Lien's friends, Keri and Pax.

Keri swatted Jae-Ha on the shoulder. "What did you do, grasshead?"

"He slayed her with his good looks," Pax said, her own eyes lingering on Jae-Ha appreciatively, "And she was so young and innocent."

"Are you accusing me of taking advantage of sweet Lien?" Jae-Ha asked, amused, "How dare you." Except he didn't sound offended at all. Shin-Ah liked Jae-Ha a lot, but understanding him was another matter.

Pax seemed to notice Shin-Ah for the first time, and her eyes lit up. She looked at Keri, who flashed a bright mischievous smile and gave a small nod.

Pax put her hand on Jae-Ha's arm. "By the way, we need you. Garuda wants you to come play the pipes since Daen is in bed, and we can't spare anyone else."

"All right, but let me put Lien—"

"Shin-Ah can make himself useful and do that," Keri said, "We need you _now_." She looked at Shin-Ah and then back to Jae-Ha and made her eyebrows wriggle. That was an interesting trick.

She and Pax stared at Jae-Ha who looked back at them with a curious expression until he glanced past them at Shin-Ah. "Oh," he said, and then smirked at the two of them, "I think I understand the, hmm, importance of my presence."

"Now he gets it," Keri said, putting her hands on her hips.

"Shin-Ah, it seems that I have to go with these lovely ladies immediately," Jae-Ha said, and before Shin-Ah could do anything, Jae-Ha was transferring Lien into his arms. Shin-Ah went wide-eyed behind his mask, startled by the fact that he was suddenly holding her, but he shifted her so that she was resting against his chest. Jae-Ha reached over and gently brushed her hair out of Lien's face, making something Shin-Ah had been so hesitant to do seem easy and simple.

"Good, now, let's go," Pax said, looping her arm through Jae-Ha's. Keri did the same thing on Jae-Ha's other side, and together they led him off.

"You two are terrible," Shin-Ah heard Jae-Ha say to them, "But I have to say, I approve of your tactics."

"We've had a lot of practice at matchmaking…"

"We're the clan's experts on matters of the heart."

They left Shin-Ah standing with Lien securely in his arms, her cheek pressed against his chest. Okay, all right, he could do this… Holding her close, he walked toward her and Yona's bedroom, which were only a few doorways down from the one he was at.

Other people were watching them, but Shin-Ah ignored them, focusing on the task at hand. He leaned forward and moved through the curtain over the doorway, then went over to the two bedrolls on the floor. Only one was unrolled, so that was the one he chose to put Lien on.

Carefully, he settled her onto the bedroll and then looked around for a blanket. Seeing one on top of the other bedroll, he picked it up and spread it out over her. She still looked cold… Without pausing, he reached back and unhooked the fluffy wig from his mask and laid it over her, smoothing it down. That was better.

Her pale, slender hand wrapped around the blanket and a bit of the wig, and she curled up into a small ball, her hair falling into her face again. This time, Shin-Ah raised his hand and moved it toward her face, letting it hover over as he debated internally.

Jae-Ha had moved her hair back, so… But that was Jae-Ha. Shin-Ah definitely wasn't Jae-Ha. He didn't talk to many women or interact with people… Still.

With a quick motion, he brushed her seafoam hair off her cheek, her skin warm and soft beneath his touch. He tucked the light lock back behind her ear, his hand lingering for a moment against her hair. It felt like silk between his rough, calloused fingers.

"That feels nice," Lien mumbled, eyes still closed, and he yanked his hand back in surprise. His fingers snagged on a tiny knot in her hair, and her eyes flew open, a wince on her face that made him feel awful. "Ow…"

"I'm sorry," he said, mortified, as he quickly untangled his fingers and leaned away from her.

Her cheeks turned red and she grinned a little, her honey-brown eyes sleepy as she rolled toward him and rested her head on her pillow. "It's all right. My hair's always getting tugged by someone, so don't worry about it."

"I'm sorry."

"Really, it's fine." A small laugh escaped her. "Did you bring me in here? I thought you left. Wait, is this the fluff from your mask?"

He nodded in response to her questions, his hands in his lap.

"Thank you, Shin-Ah. And it's okay, you know, if you want to play with my hair. It feels good."

"I don't want to hurt you," Shin-Ah said, extremely cautious about doing that again.

Lien peeked up at him before closing her eyes again. "You won't." A tiny smile curled around her rosebud mouth. "If you come to a knot, just work it out," she teased.

It was a few moments before Shin-Ah worked up the nerve to reach over and touch her hair again. It was softer than the fluff from his mask, almost like the fur on a kitten, though thicker and shinier. He drew his fingers through her hair, and she sighed contentedly.

Something strange and new stirred in his chest at the way she seemed to trust him without flinching, the relaxation clear on her face even though he was a dragon. Maybe she wouldn't act like this if she knew what he was. If she knew his power and his curse.

Or maybe she would.


	8. Chapter 8

By the time Lien woke up and actually managed to stay awake, Shin-Ah was gone and it was dark outside, judging by the increase of noise from the main room. Whenever it got dark out, people tended to gather in Sandara and Rom's winter home, drawn there to spend time with friends and catch up on clan gossip.

Lien rolled her shoulders and then climbed up from her bed roll, stretching. Had Shin-Ah really been in her room, playing with her hair? Or had she imagined that? Sometimes when she was tired from using her powers, she could swear that she hallucinated things. Maybe this was just one of those times…

Shaking her head, she changed into a pair of extremely loose brown trousers and a light green tunic and went out into the main area.

Almost immediately, she was set upon by Pax. The brunette snagged her arm and pushed her up against a wall, her eyes alight with intrigue. "Sooo, what did you two do for so long? Did you have your way with him?"

"That was real?!" Lien clapped a hand to her mouth, her cheeks going pink. Okay, so she wasn't a blushing little naive creature, she had played at romance with boys in villages they had visited, but… It seemed different with Shin-Ah. He didn't flirt. He didn't seem to know how. So when she had told him that he could play with her hair… She drooped against the wall, wondering what he thought of her being so forward.

"Oh-ho-ho, so what, you kissed? Did you kiss a lot? How much?" Pax gripped Lien's shoulders, a massive grin on her face. "Tell me everything."

"We didn't do anything," Lien said, wriggling her shoulders in a half-hearted attempt to get away, "He played with my hair, but that's about it—"

"Aw, well, there's always next time," Pax said, "That's super cute and innocent, though. I didn't know you could be so adorable."

"Pax…" Lien put her face in her hands, hiding her embarrassment.

"Lien!" Mama Ro's voice thundered across the room, giving Lien a reason to properly escape from Pax's interrogation. She slipped away from her friend and darted through the room, bare feet nimbly finding a path through her scattered clan members. Mama Ro was standing in front of the room where Yoon, Hak, and Shin-Ah had been staying, and beyond her, Lien could see the whole outsider group gathered. Yona gave her a small encouraging wave, and Lien waved back. "They want to talk to you. Just you. Seems that Yoon kid has a few questions."

"He did seem curious," Lien said. She rubbed her hands up and down her arms, anxious at the idea of telling someone, let alone a group of people, what she was capable of. Still, she had agreed to let Yoon see her gift, so she had known this might happen. Also, a small, strange part of her wanted them to know. Especially Yona. It was as if there was a string attached between her and the other girl, and that string grew tauter every day.

"You don't have to explain anything to them," Mama Ro said, but it was like she already knew what Lien was going to say.

"I think I want to," Lien said slowly, "Or I need to. I don't know, it's a weird feeling."

Mama Ro sighed. "Your mother and father are against telling them the whole story, but I think you're going to anyways. Remember how I told you that people like you don't stay?"

"I'm not going anywhere, Mama Ro," she said, but it lacked the certainty that she usually had.

Mama Ro reached over to brush her thumb roughly over Lien's cheek. "You say that now." She nodded to the doorway. "Go on, they're waiting."

Lien slipped past the caravan's leader and into the room. She was used to having people look at her since she was a professional dancer, so she didn't flinch when all seven of them turned to look at her.

"Hey, Lien!" Zeno said cheerfully, "Feeling better?"

"Yes, thanks," she said, giving the yellow-haired young man a smile. Turning to the others, she looked at Jae-Ha, Yoon, and Shin-Ah and bowed. "And thank you for saving the two idiot boys." Straightening back up, she tucked her hair behind her ears. "We're all very grateful."

"You're most welcome," Jae-Ha said while Shin-Ah just nodded.

"You helped too," Yoon said, "And, well, I'd like to talk about how you helped. If you don't mind?"

She could still walk out. Lien didn't really owe them an explanation… But she couldn't bring herself to leave or ignore them, and there was still that feeling that Yona needed to know. She quickly sat down beside Yona and rested her hands in her lap. "It's all right. But please, I…" She twisted her hands together, her fingers wrapping around each other. "No one outside the clan is supposed to know about it. About what I can do."

A gentle hand rested on her arm, and Lien looked up into Yona's understanding violet eyes. "Don't worry. We have secrets, too, which I bet you've already guessed. Right?"

Lien smiled a tiny bit. "Well, I was wondering how Jae-Ha could jump around the way he does. And Kija's very strong on just one side."

"I'm not that weak on the other side," Kija protested, but Hak laughed.

"She's got you figured out," he said, earning him a glare form Kija.

"Settle down, beasts!" Yoon turned toward Lien, sitting forward, seemingly eager for knowledge. "We won't tell anyone else, we promise."

Lien closed her eyes for a moment, teetering on the edge, and then gave in. "Then…stay calm." She lifted her right hand, raised her pointer finger, and drew on the fire in her veins. Her hand began to tingle and a second later, she felt a lick of flame appeared, dancing on her fingertip before spreading down her hand and collecting in her palm. It was warm and familiar against her skin, not at all painful, but she heard Yona let out a little shriek.

Lien's eyes flew open to see Yona and Yoon lean over and blow on her hand as if they were putting out a candle. She instantly put out the flame when she saw the panic on their faces.

A moment after that, a larger, calloused hand covered hers and patted at her hand urgently. She looked up to see Shin-Ah kneeling in front of her, his mouth a tense straight line.

Behind him, the other guys looked utterly shocked, and Kija was even holding a bucket of water, apparently ready to douse her.

Lien curled her fingers over Shin-Ah's and laughed. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you." She bit her lips to smother her laughter and looked over at Yona and Yoon. "I did tell you to stay calm."

"Your finger was on fire!" Yoon snapped, "Are you crazy?!" He snatched her hand out of Shin-Ah's grip and inspected it, turning it over and peering at her fingers and palm. "There's no burn marks." Yoon narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Was that a trick? Are you the clan's magician, too?"

"That'd be easier," Lien said, shaking her head. "That was me, it's…it's this thing I can do. Look, I'll tell you the whole story, but it's a little unbelievable."

"Trust me, we'll believe it," Yoon said, glancing at the others.

"We're a little unbelievable ourselves," Yona said softly.

Lien looked at them and then clenched her fists. "Okay…"

* * *

 

_A/N: Next time, Lien actually tells her story!_


	9. Chapter 9

"Ever since I was little, I've had this power," Lien said, looking at her hands instead of the others. It was easier to tell the story if she didn't have to look them in the eyes, especially when it was her first time ever explaining this to anyone. People in her clan were already aware of her gifts, they knew. This…this was different.

"I…I can control heat and fire. I can create it, too," she said, "This power had been in our clan a long time, but sometimes it skips generations. My grandmother was the last one to have it."

Lien could vaguely remember her grandmother, a spiteful, withered woman with short white hair and an annoyed expression. Mama Ro always said that Grandmother had missed her opportunity, and that was what had driven her to be so bitter.

"How did that happen?" Yoon asked, "Your clan getting the power, I mean."

"The story is that about a thousand years ago, there was a girl who lived in a land north of the Kai Empire." She pressed her fingertips into the leg, trying to gather the threads of the story so it would be coherent and easy to understand. At least it was a story she had been told many times, so it was familiar. "The land where she lived was a small nation but powerful and new. The leader who had created the nation was young and strong but couldn't lead the nation alone. The girl knew the leader, they had been friends since childhood, and so she asked the gods for the ability to help him. They heard her, and she was given the fire of the kirin."

"The fire deer?" Yoon stared at her, "The one that's basically wreathed in flame in legends?"

Lien gave a nervous chuckle at that phrase. "Sort of, yes. That's how some people describe them."

She looked back down at the ground. "The girl acted as an advisor and a protector to the young king, and her descendants helped in that nation for a long time. It was prosperous and happy. But later, one of the kings became cruel, and there weren't any more children born with the kirin's fire. The king became enraged and exiled all of the descendants of the girl with the kirin's fire."

"And those people became the Swift Song Clan?" Yona asked.

Lien nodded. "The descendants went south and became nomadic. They invited others to join them, and the clan grew. The kirin's fire would reappear sometimes in one baby or another, always before a strong leader rose to power in one of the countries they roamed through."

"So, let me get this straight," Yoon interrupted, "Whenever a good ruler appears, there's a kirin kid to go along with them?"

"They're usually born a couple years before the ruler, but yes, that's what happens," Lien said, "So when my grandmother was a little girl, King Joo-Nam was born." Then the powers had skipped a generation and come to her. Joo-Nam had been a powerful ruler and a good leader, mostly, but his sons…well…

"I don't remember hearing about a person with fire powers working for the king," Hak said.

Lien nodded. "That would be right. My grandmother didn't leave the clan. She stayed here."

"Okay, but wouldn't we have heard about other kings who had people who could create fire on their side?" Yoon pointed out, "It's pretty noticeable."

"Not everyone who's been born with the kirin's power can actually create fire," Lien said softly. An embarrassed blush colored her cheeks. "Most of the time they can just control heat, so it's not as noticeable. We're mostly useful because of our advising skills." She gave a shaky smile. "So I think I have fire skills in exchange for not being a good advisor."

"You might be a good advisor," Yona declared, "You just haven't had the chance."

"If you have the kirin's fire, that must mean you're supposed to help a ruler," Zeno said, his voice sounding calmer and more mature than usual. He looked over at her, and Lien's golden-brown eyes met his bright blue gaze. "Are you supposed to help Yona? Or Soo-Won?"

Oh. Lien honestly hadn't thought about that yet. If Yona was the princess, was she supposed to aid her? Or was it Soo-Won who had been born to be the strong leader? Lien had been born in Kouka kingdom eighteen years ago, so it likely that the ruler she was supposed to help was from Kouka. That was usually how it worked.

However, she couldn't imagine helping Soo-Won, not when he had murdered Yona's father and almost gotten her killed as well. If being an advisor or a protector to someone who had committed such a deep betrayal was her calling and in doing so make enemies out of Yona and the others, she wasn't sure if she could carry it out.

Helping Yona, though…Something inside of her glowed at the thought. Maybe that would explain why part of her, even though it was small, wanted to follow the princess and her friends.

If she ignored her calling, whoever it was to, she would wind up like her grandmother, regretful and full of bitterness. It wasn't what she wanted, but leaving her clan? She wasn't sure if she wanted that.

"You don't have to answer that, Lien," Yona said. She reached over and put a hand on Lien's arm, giving her an encouraging smile. "Maybe you're supposed to help someone else! I'd never force you to join me or anything, you know."

"I know you wouldn't," Lien said, "But I don't think I'm here for Soo-Won. It…he doesn't feel right." She twisted her hands together and took a deep breath before looking at the others, surging forward before anyone asked her to explain what she meant by that. "But anyways, I have fire powers and that's why."

"Yona, you keep finding every rare beast in the world," Yoon said, shaking his head at the red-haired princess, "How do you do it?"

"Luck?" Yona said with a smile. She squeezed Lien's arm. "I'm glad you told us."

She felt a little relieved now that they knew. It meant she didn't have to hide her power from them. Which, in turn… "So, does this mean we're going to stop pretending you four aren't the legendary dragons?"

"Are we that obvious?" Jae-Ha asked, flicking his thick hair back from his eyes.

"You don't do much to hide it!" Yoon said.

"It's impossible to hide such skill."

As the others argued, Lien turned to look at Yona. The princess was watching her with an intent gaze, and Lien blinked back at her. "What is it?"

"Well, here's the thing," Yona said. She bit her lip and her fingers tightened around a bit of her dress. "If I say I want you to be my kirin, that means I think of myself as a good leader, which I'm not. I just want to survive and keep my friends and this country safe." She shook her head. "So I don't deserve someone who is supposed to help great rulers. But I think it would be nice if you'd join us, if you wanted. You're strong, and I feel like I need to ask you." Yona laughed a little. "Is that silly?"

"No, but…Yona..." Lien stood up, suddenly feeling as if the room was closing in on her. Leave the clan? Leave the only home she had ever known and the family that she loved so much to travel with these people she barely knew? But that part of her that needed to follow was growing louder, demanding obedience. Was this how it felt to tear in two? "I…I have to go." She bowed to the princess and her friends and dashed out of the room, ignoring them as they called after her.


	10. Chapter 10

"Ao…" Shin-Ah said as Lien fled the room. He scooped the squirrel off of his shoulder and set her on the ground. She promptly scampered off, sliding under the cloth over the door to chase after Lien. She had looked upset, and Ao was good at making those kinds of feelings go away.

"I think you scared her off, princess," Hak said, earning him a frown from Yona.

"She needs time to think," Yoon said, "Not everyone makes up their mind as easily as Kija and Zeno."

"I knew that I needed to go with Yona, and I'm not ashamed of how quickly I decided to go," Kija said.

Zeno grinned widely. "The food helped." He leaned back against the wall, his arms behind his head. "Maybe we should feed her?"

"I really think she's supposed to go with us," Yona said. She plucked at a loose string on her vest and then shook her head. "It's just a feeling, but I know it's that right one."

"If that's the case, then she won't be able to deny it," Kija said, "She'll know that she needs to join your cause, Yona, just like the rest of us."

"But she's not a dragon," Jae-Ha said, holding up a finger before Kija could jump straight into a duty-is-important-dragons-must-obey rant. "She won't feel the same call that the four of us did, and we don't know exactly how kirins work."

Yoon snorted. "I think it says a lot about us that no one is really surprised by this whole mythical beast thing."

Hak nodded. "Traveling with dragons does that to you, I guess."

"You're one of those magic monsters, Thunder Beast."

Shin-Ah was staying silent. Sitting cross-legged in the middle of the room, he didn't feel like he had anything important to contribute to the conversation. This was Lien's decision. They had all had a choice to make: whether or not to follow Yona. For him, the decision had been easy enough. He could either travel with Yona or stay in his village where all of the other villagers feared him. It was different for Lien. So different.

A hand fell on his shoulder, and he turned his head to find Jae-Ha smirking at him. What was that look for?

"Someone should go make sure she's all right. I nominate Shin-Ah," Jae-Ha said. He stood and pulled Shin-Ah to his feet as well, grabbing his arm and yanking him up. "Go on."

Shin-Ah froze, nearly tilting over as Jae-Ha tried to shove him toward the door. What was he supposed to do? Did Jae-Ha expect him to convince Lien to come with them?

"Really?" Hak said, one eyebrow raised in surprise, "You really want 'Fluffy Hairy Blue Guy' to talk to her?"

Jae-Ha nodded. "Trust me, Shin-Ah's the best one for this job." He put both hands on Shin-Ah's shoulders and drove him out of the room and into the hallway. Patting him on the shoulder, Jae-Ha gave him a final push before disappearing back into the room with the others. "Go get her."

"Wait…" Shin-Ah raised a hand, wanting to ask Jae-Ha what to do, but the green dragon was already gone. Pulling his shoulders back, Shin-Ah looked around the room, trying to locate Lien and Ao.

There were a lot of clan members in the building again, talking, laughing, joking. Mama Ro met his gaze across the crowd, and she came toward him, people parting for her without her having to say a word. She commanded respect, and her clan gave it to her happily.

"What'd you people say to our girl?" she demanded as she reached him. She put her hands on her hips and stared up at Shin-Ah, obviously not intimidated by his mask in the slightest.

Shin-Ah ground the toe of his boot into the ground, unsure of what to say.

"What am I asking you for, you don't talk." Mama Ro let out a sigh. "She went out to get some air. Can you go get her? It's getting dark, and we should all be indoors."

Nodding, Shin-Ah moved around Mama Ro, giving her quite a bit of room, and headed for the door. He put on one of the heavy cloaks hanging from the pegs on the wall and then grabbed another one. The heavy door creaked as he pushed it open just enough to slide out. Bitterly cold wind snapped at him, biting at the exposed parts of his face. At least it wasn't snowing. He instantly spotted a splash of light green against the snow and trudged that way, leaning into the wind.

Lien was sitting on a fallen log, her fingers digging into the frozen wood, her normally smiling mouth etched into a straight line. As he had guessed, she wasn't wearing a cloak, which meant she was using her powers to stay warm. In the crook of her neck, Ao was perched and pushing a peanut against her cheek. Absently, Lien reached up to pet the squirrel.

She was looking out at the mountain range beyond them, which stretched into the distance, an ongoing panorama of white-tipped spikes painted purple and pink by the sunset. It was beautiful. His eyes traveled back to Lien.

Silently, Shin-Ah walked up behind her and dropped the cloak over her head and shoulders. "You'll get tired."

Lien startled and then looked up at him, the hood of the cloak sliding against her cheek. "Thanks…"

Shin-Ah stood behind her, wavering on what to do. He remembered when Yona had asked him to join her on her journey. He had been scared and uncertain, even though part of him wanted to go. Maybe that was how Lien felt.

She was still looking at him. "You're going to catch another cold out here."

He stepped over the log. It had snow on it, so he brushed it off before sitting down beside her.

"I'm sorry," she said. Reaching up, she picked Ao off her shoulder and held her out to him. "I didn't…I wasn't sure what to say to Yona."

She didn't need to be sorry. There was nothing to apologize for. How to reassure her… Leaning over, he pushed Ao back toward her and rearranged her cloak so that it was covering her head, keeping in more heat. Her eyes were wide as they followed him while he worked, and he wondered if he was doing this right. He was being encouraging, wasn't he? She was being so still.

Ao scurried up her arm and dove into the hood, nearly knocking it back off her head.

A small smile darted across Lien's face, which made Shin-Ah feel better. He must have done something right.

"I want to say yes," she said quietly, "I just…"

"Your family," he said.

"Yes." Lien looked up at him, and he was surprised to see tears in her eyes. "I'm scared to leave them. I've never been away from them, what if something happened? I don't know what to do." Those tears started trailing down her face.

Oh no, oh no, tears. Not that. "Ah…" What would Hak do? Shin-Ah blinked and then slowly circled his arms around Lien, his hand on the back of her head. His cheek rested against her hair as he pulled her to his chest. "Don't cry."

She didn't respond, but he felt her press her face against his shoulder. So warm…

Wait. What was that? In the far distance, something strange glistened against the snow. A glint of steel. Shadows moving on the mountain path, heading toward the hidden winter village. Lien pulled away, possibly having noticed the shift in his posture.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Shin-Ah lifted his mask and his eyes focused on the faraway shapes. Spears, horses, dark outfits. Secretive and numbering in at thirty four.

"Raiders."


	11. Chapter 11

Lien stood up and squinted into the distance, but the raiders were too far away for her to see. However, she trusted Shin-Ah.

"We have to tell the others," she said, taking his hand and heading for her parents' house. He hurried along beside her, the snow and ice crunching under both of their boots.

Worried created a storm within her. She couldn't remember a time when the winter camp had been attacked before. It was well-hidden and tucked away into a remote place in the mountains, almost impossible to find unless you knew it was there. It was probably simply bad luck that they had been discovered, but that bad luck could ruin them.

If there were raiders on the way, the clan would need to decide whether to stay and fight or flee down the pass. With night falling, leaving the winter camp would be extremely dangerous. The darkness would make it difficult to see the narrow mountain paths, and the cold would be unbearable for most of the clan.

But staying also had its glaring issues. They weren't warriors. Some of them, like Kyung, knew self-defense so they could defend the clan against thieves and bandits, but most of them weren't fighters, they were artists. Her gift might be useful, but she wasn't sure if she could keep back a large force of men.

Together, she and Shin-Ah shoved the heavy door open. "Mama Ro!" Lien shouted, cutting through the noise of the home, "Raiders are coming!" She didn't want to create panic, but, well, people needed to know so they could begin to prepare.

Everyone went silent and turned to look at her, frozen in the middle of their activities.

"What're you talking about, girl?" Mama Ro asked, her hands on her hips. "The outlooks haven't said nothing, and no one's rung the bell."

"They're far away," Lien said, rushing toward her aunt and leading Shin-Ah with her. He knew the situation better than she did. Her mother and father appeared, standing up from the others, as did Kyung. "Shin-Ah saw them."

"They'll be here in a few hours," Shin-Ah said.

"That gives us plenty of time to prepare." Hak walked toward them, his clothed glaive laying over his shoulder. Jae-Ha and Kija were right behind him, with Yona, Zeno, and Yoon hovering near the entrance to the hallway.

Mama Ro turned toward him. "And what, you're going to protect all of us?"

"Some of us can help," Kyung said, "We're not defenseless."

"We might as well be," Mama Ro said and gestured toward the clan members gathered around. "Dancers, singers, actors, you're not a fearsome lot."

"But they are," Lien said, looking meaningfully at the dragon warriors and Hak. She hadn't seen them in action, but she had a feeling they were formidable in battle.

"We're not asking them to defend us," Mama Ro said, crossing her arms, "Then we'd have to feed them more and let them stay longer to repay them."

"We're not defending you," Jae-Ha said with a smirk, "We're defending the area that we're staying in. You just happen to be around."

"I wanna fight!" Han-jae leapt on Lien and dragged at her arm, "I can get 'em with my sword!"

"Your sword is wooden and so's your head," Kyung said. He reached over and plucked Han-jae off of Lien and held him a couple feet off the floor while he kicked and punched at invisible enemies.

"No one's going to be fighting anyone," Mama Ro said. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at all of them. "We'll take the back path and escape to the forest. We'll stay there until they pass."

"That plan will keep us safe, but they'll steal everything," Lien said, stepping forward, "Our costumes, our instruments, our wagons. How will we continue if we have nothing to perform with?"

"We can buy new things."

"It's freezing," Kyung said, "People might die in this cold."

Lien looked up at Shin-Ah, and he glanced back down at her before looking at Mama Ro.

"Allow the dragons to help you. Please," he said, and then he bowed.

Mama Ro stared at him and then raised an eyebrow. "It talks."

"Yes," Lien said, "And please, let them help us." She wasn't too proud to ask for help, not when it could save her clan. She gestured to Hak and the others and then toward herself, resting her hand on her chest. "If we work together, I think we can fight them off."

"And we're going to help whether you like it or not," Yona's voice called out over the crowd. The redhead stepped through the room and came to a stop at Hak's side, her arms crossed just like Mama Ro's. She seemed to stare down the older woman, who looked at her with surprise. "You've all helped us out and saved our lives, and we're not going to sit back and let your homes be attacked." She glanced over at Lien and gave her a small smile. "Though we'd like it if you'd accept our help instead of us forcing it on you, all right?"

Mama Ro sighed and looked over at Lien's parents. Her father silently nodded while her mother clasped her hands together and held them under her chin. Finally, she gave a little nod as well.

"I don't like this," Mama Ro said, looking at Yona, "You all shouldn't feel like you owe us anything."

"We just want to help," Yona said, "It's what we do."

Helping people sounded like a very nice thing to be known for. Lien watched Mama Ro, hoping she would give in to everyone around her. She could be terribly stubborn sometimes.

Finally, the clan leader sighed. "Fine. We accept your help," she said, sounding as if it took everything she had to accept it.

"And we'll help you fight," Lien said. Although she only knew how to play fight and do mock sword battles, her power would come in handy. Being able to set things on fire was advantageous, wasn't it?

"We have a couple _actual_ fighters," Kyung said, giving Lien a reprimanding look that she chose to ignore. If he could decide to fight alongside them, then so could she.

Hak grinned and pulled a ribbon on his glaive. The covering fell off, revealing the sharp, glinting edge. "Then let's come up with a plan, Speedy Dance Clan."

"It's Swift Song!" someone yelled.

"Yeah, that."

 


	12. Chapter 12

The winter camp burst into activity, mostly under the guidance of Hak and Mama Ro, to prepare for the raiders. Buildings were hastily boarded up while the women and children took shelter in the performance hall. The men grabbed up the few actual weapons they had, and the rest found clubs and staffs that could at least be used to beat off the enemy. Wagons were used to build barricades at the small entrance to the winter camp's hollow, which would make it easier to control how many raiders could get through at one time.

"They're not exactly a fighting force, but I guess they'll do," Jae-Ha said. He had jumped them to their current location, and now he was standing beside Shin-Ah as the blue dragon kept an eye on the approaching enemy. "We probably don't even need their help. I'm not sure fake sword-fighting is going to scare the raiders."

It was their home, though, and if they wanted to fight, Shin-Ah didn't think they should be discouraged.

He glanced back at the village and saw bright red hair standing out against the snow beside light seafoam green. Yona and Lien were talking to Hak, and a moment later they started climbing up a narrow path that led to a little ledge above the winter camp. Zeno followed along behind them while Yoon stayed on the ground, most likely to help out with any injuries.

When Yona slipped a little, Lien caught her by the hand and held her until Zeno bumped into her from behind. All three of them wound up on the ground, and he could tell they were laughing. Shin-Ah thought it was strange that people sometimes laughed before a battle. Nervous energy, he guessed.

Jae-Ha's hand landed on his head and gently turned him back in the opposite direction. "The raiders are that way."

Shin-Ah flicked his eyes toward Jae-Ha and then lifted his mask. Ao leaned forward, covering his face so Jae-Ha couldn't see, and Shin-Ah looked out into the distance. The raiders were creeping steadily forward, using the moonlight to guide them instead of lighting torches. They seemed to think they were still undiscovered, so they would be trying to use the element of surprise. That could work to the clan's advantage.

"They'll be at camp in thirty minutes," Shin-Ah said. He let his eyes pick out weapons among the band. "Mostly armed with swords, spears…Three bows. One mace."

"And doubtless a good number of hidden knives," Jae-Ha said. He tossed his green ponytail back behind his shoulder and looked at Shin-Ah, who had lowered his mask again. "Time to go back, you Blue Hairy Man."

Shin-Ah wondered if that was what they were going to call him from now on. It seemed like the constantly-shifting nickname that the Swift Song clan members had given him was going to become his permanent new name. He preferred Shin-Ah…But if that's what his friends wanted to call him, that would be all right.

"Cover your face," Jae-Ha said, reaching over to tug on Shin-Ah's scarf, "You don't want windburn." Jae-Ha looped his arm around Shin-Ah and leapt from the tree, soaring through the air. The freezing wind cut at them even through their cloaks and scarves, and Shin-Ah was glad that his mask covered at least part of his face. They landed and Jae-Ha hugged himself, shivering. "This place has ridiculously impractical weather…"

Jae-Ha was from the ocean. He didn't seem to be used to the cold weather that the camp endured. Shin-Ah took him by the arm and dragged him over to a pit fire that was burning in the shelter between two buildings. The green dragons made a few protesting noises then sighed once he was in front of the flames.

"Use your words, Shin-Ah," Jae-Ha said, lifting his hands to the flames, "I thought you were going to toss me in the bonfire. But thank you."

Shin-Ah nodded and leaned toward the fire, letting the heat soak into his cloak.

"You should be more careful with Shin-Ah, he's still recovering," Kija scolded as he appeared beside Jae-Ha.

"He's fine," Jae-Ha said, casting an amused look at the white dragon. "You know, you're still a good big brother, even if you did almost let him freeze to death."

Kija's claws flicked out, and he pointed a finger at Jae-Ha. "I didn't want him to go out in the first place."

"Calm down, calm down, Kija," Jae-Ha said, chuckling.

Shin-Ah stayed quiet, letting his face grow warm from the fire. Kija got into a lot of arguments with Jae-Ha and Hak, but they didn't have the same angry nature that they used to. Now, they seemed to argue because it was…fun? They all seemed to enjoy teasing each other.

"How long do we have?" Hak asked. He and Yoon were walking toward them, the younger boy's arms full of white cloths. The snow crunched beneath Hak's boots as he came to a stop beside Shin-Ah.

"Half an hour," Shin-Ah answered.

"That's not long!" Yoon said. He put the supplies he was carrying into a nearby box and frowned. "These people can't fight. They're just performers, they're going to get slaughtered."

"We won't let that happen," Hak said. He had his glaive resting over his shoulder and a confident smirk on his face. "Actually, I'm planning on them not even getting a chance to fight."

"Speaking of that brilliant plan, we need to get into position," Jae-Ha said.

"Do you think Yona's going to be okay?" Yoon said. He looked back at the ledge where she, Lien, and Zeno had gone, but they weren't visible anymore.

Or at least they weren't to the others.

Shin-Ah focused, letting his dragon's sight come into play. He saw the three crouched down among the rocks, each of them now wearing a makeshift white cloak that allowed them to blend in against the snow and ice. Yona was in-between Zeno and Lien, and she was holding her bow, ready for the approaching raiders. She was talking, though he couldn't read what she was saying since her hood kept around. Lien's light green hair flicked over her face before she reached up and hastily shoved it back under her hood. She paused, her hand behind her ear, and then she looked over in Shin-Ah's direction. They were close enough that they would be able to see him and the others, even if Yoon couldn't make them out himself due to the camouflage. Maybe she had felt Shin-Ah looking at her…

Leaning over, she nudged Yona and reached out to pat Zeno's hand, and then all three of them gave Shin-Ah a quick little wave. Zeno tossed in a double-thumbs up.

"They're safe," Shin-Ah said.

"Lien and Zeno are with her," Hak said, "She's covering long distance while Lien makes sure she stays warm. Zeno said he would protect them."

Jae-Ha raised an eyebrow. "And that's going to work?"

"Shin-Ah's going to protect the base of the path after he finishes his job," Hak said, "Better?"

"Yep, I'm good with that."

"That sounds like a better idea," Kija said.

"Much better."

Shin-Ah nodded, also agreeing with that part of the plan. He didn't want to leave the three of them exposed, even if they were planning on keeping the main force of raiders out of the camp entirely.

"Great, glad no one's complaining." Hak looked toward the barricade and started walking that way. "Let's go show some raiders that messing around in the mountains during winter is a really terrible idea."


	13. Chapter 13

A tense silence settled over the camp as they waited for the raiders to appear. Up on the ledge, Lien hoped that her clan would be safe. She knew her mother and father would prefer for her to hide in the performance hall with the other women, especially because she wasn't much of a fighter, but that wasn't her place now.

It felt right, being up on the ledge beside Yona.

The other girl was shivering and nervous, but she also looked confident. She had seen battle before, and the bow seemed like a natural extension of her arm, a weapon and a tool. Lien leaned against her and slowly allowed her arm to heat up, lending some of that warmth to Yona.

"Ooo, that's so nice," Yona said, scooting closer, "How do you do that?" Ao popped out of Yona's hood and snuggled in close to her neck, enjoying the heat as well.

"I really don't know," Lien said, "I guess it's sort of how Shin-Ah can use his eyes or how Jae-Ha can jump."

"Mythic gifts are confusing and strange," Zeno said on Yona's other side, "And they have drawbacks."

Lien glanced over at the yellow-haired young man, wondering exactly what his power was. In the legends, the yellow dragon was supposed to have a strong, indestructible body but she had seen Zeno get burned by a hot pan the other day. Yoon had even put a salve on it and wrapped it up for him, though it seemed a lot better now. Maybe he just healed quicker than most people?

"I don't see the drawbacks of fire…Wait, Lien, I've got an idea," Yona said, turning toward Lien. Her violet eyes were bright and eager, and Lien leaned back a little, worried.

"What kind of idea?"

"Fire. Arrows."

"Hey, Zeno likes that idea, too," the yellow dragon put in perkily. He pushed up on his hands and looked at Lien over Yona's head. "Can the little lady do that?"

Lien considered it, tilting her head to the side. After a moment, she nodded. "If we wrap cloth around the ends, we can definitely make fire arrows. But Yona, you'll have to make sure to not shoot anywhere near the buildings." Most of them were at least partly made of wood, and if they destroyed the camp while trying to protect it, Mama Ro would end them all.

"I'll be careful," Yona said.

The three of them began shredding bits of their white cloaks into strips. Lien and Zeno rapidly wrapped the bits of cloth around Yona's arrow tips, and whenever they finished one, she put them back in her quiver. Soon, half of the arrows had white tips and could be used as fiery weapons against the enemy. They were just finishing up when the first clang of battle rang through the mountainside. It was quickly followed by shouting and screaming.

"Hak," Yona and Zeno both said, exchanging a look. Lien didn't know how they could tell who had made the first strike based on the sound alone, but then again, those two were used to those sounds.

Lien stood up as Yona did, her hand on the rocky side of the mountain. Torches started glowing as the raiders broke the clay pots they had used to shield the fire, and the battle was lit with a red hot glow.

In the firelight, Lien could see the dragons and Hak battling against the raiders, a whirlwind of weapons and hand-to-hand combat. The warriors had used white cloth as well to hide themselves until the raiders were close, and the trick had paid off. Her eyes darted around until she found Shin-Ah. He was like liquid flame, his long slender blade slicing any enemy that came too close. She tensed as someone stalked up behind him, but he turned at the last moment, his sword blocking theirs.

"Lien, fire please," Yona said. She had an arrow and was holding it out to Lien.

She focused as she reached out and grabbed the wrapped arrowhead, and in an instant, it was on fire. The only problem with fire arrows was that the fire would allow the raiders to realize their location quicker. Still, it was hard not to be proud of their idea when Yona's arrow hit the raiders' little small wagon and caught it on fire, causing some of the raiders to peel away to douse the flames.

The next few arrows Yona shot were regular ones, and each shot caught a man in the shoulder or leg, at least slowing them down if not stopping them entirely. Something whistled over their heads and clattered against the rock wall behind them. An arrow fell down next to Lien. Picking it up, she held it out to Yona. "Look, they're sending us more arrows to use."

"That's nice of them," Yona said, and the girls exchanged a small smile that covered up their worry. If the raiders were shooting at them, their position was compromised. Ao scurried down Yona's arm and leapt over to Lien, climbing up to sit on her shoulder.

Zeno picked up the wooden shield he had dragged up to the ledge and knelt down in front of Yona and Lien, blocking them. He shot Yona a grin. "You can shoot over it or around it, miss."

"Thanks, Zeno," Yona said. She nocked the arrow that the raiders had shot at them and sent it straight back.

The battle was obviously going in favor of the dragons, but the raiders were fighting dirty, using whatever tricks they could. Lien watched around the edge of the shield as a few of them sneaked past the warriors, heading for the village. The second line of defense was Kyung and his group of actors-turned-fighters, and Lien feared the battle wouldn't be as easy for them.

"Yona!" she yelped, reaching for her, "There, we need to take them out." She pointed to the men who had gotten through the barricade.

"I see them," Yona said with a little nod. Using one of Lien's fire arrows, she shot a man in the arm. He shouted and fell to the ground, rolling to put the fire out. Ao let out a little noise and scurried back over to Yona, diving into her hood.

That left four other raiders, but they didn't get far as the men from Lien's clan darted out to confront them. Her heart climbed to her throat as she looked for her brother, trying to pick him out of the white-clad figures. Unlike Shin-Ah, there wasn't a mask to help identify him…

She gasped and clapped a hand to her mouth when she spotted him locked in combat with two of the raiders, both of them wielding knives while he had a single sword, an old one they used as a prop. A knife came under the sword, and Kyung went down, dropping to one knee.

Before she even knew what she was doing, Lien was running, her feet slipping on the rocks on the trail down to the village. She heard Zeno call her name, but she needed to get to Kyung. Anger and terror bubbled under her skin, calling to the fire in her, and flames licked her hands and raced up her arms, scorching her sleeves.

She halfway slid down the mountainside, racing for her brother. Energy coursed through her and she pulled on it, using it to feed her flames. She raced past buildings and didn't bother slowing down when she saw her brother in front of her. He was backed up against their home, sword held in front of him with one hand while his other hand clutched his wound. One raider was laying in the snow nearby, but the other was advancing on Kyung.

Lien slammed into the raider from behind, wrapping her fire-encased arms around him. Her momentum sent them both to the ground, the snow crackling and melting as wildfire dripped off of her. The raider pulled back and lashed out at her with his knife, but Lien rolled, scrambling to her feet.

"What the hell," the man said, beating the flames on his arms until they went out, "What are you?"

She darted over to stand in front of Kyung, her hands blazing. Sparks fell from her hair, making the snow and ice sizzle as they landed on the ground.

"Lien, go," Kyung coughed, and blood dripped from his lips.

She shook her head. "I'm not leaving you."

The raider switched his grip on his knife, turning it so he was holding it lightly by the blade. He aimed at her, and she realized what he was doing too late. The knife spun through the air, and while she raised her arms to block her face, there wasn't enough time to move.

Metal struck metal, and the knife didn't strike. She lowered her arms to find herself looking at the back of a dark blue robe and white fluff. A thin blade glinted in the glow of the moonlight and her fire combined.

Shin-Ah.


	14. Chapter 14

Shin-Ah was immersed in the battle, steadily clashing with raiders and cutting them down. The dragon warriors and Hak were all doing their best to not kill anyone since the clan was essentially peaceful, but a few of these men were going to be missing appendages.

There was a lull around him for a few seconds, and he spared a glance at the ledge where Yona, Lien, and Zeno were. He could see Zeno and Yona, but… A flash of light caught his eyes, and he followed it, spotting Lien briefly among the boulders as she careened down the path. Fire burned in her hair and along her arms as she raced down the mountain, heading for the village.

Where was she going? Why would she be going back to the village…unless something had gone wrong. Shin-Ah turned and ran for the barricade, sword in hand. Up and over the makeshift wall and into the village, where people were fighting off a few raiders that had somehow gotten past the dragons and Hak.

Shin-Ah rushed at one of the raiders who was attacking a clansman, his sword whistling as it cut the air. The raider turned and block it with his own blade at the last moment, and Shin-Ah spun, going low. His sword slid across the man's thigh. It took a few moments for the raider to realize that he had been wounded, and he clapped both hands to the gash and sat in the snow, shouting.

"I can, er, handle it from here?" the clansman said, staring at Shin-Ah.

The blue dragon nodded before looking around, his eyes widening as he saw Lien attack on of the raiders, both of them falling to the ground. His chest tightened, and he rushed in her direction, the cold wind catching at him. Lien wasn't a fighter, she was supposed to be with Yona and Zeno, safe on the ledge and far away from the battle.

He wasn't going to make it. The raider stood and so did Lien, and now he could see that she was protecting her brother. They were backed up against the building with nowhere to go, and the raider was about to throw a knife.

Shin-Ah pushed himself and skidded to a stop in front of her, his sword a streak of silver in the moonlight as it hit the knife in mid-throw, sending it flying. He could feel the heat pouring from the fire that lit Lien's hands, and he wondered if she was exhausting herself.

"Thank you," he heard Lien whisper. She was safe.

"Monsters," the raider said, shaking as he took a step back, "You're both monsters."

That wasn't news to Shin-Ah. He had heard that for years, so it wasn't going to destroy his resolve now, especially when he had someone to protect. He gripped his sword tighter, staring down the raider. The light grew brighter as Lien stepped slightly to his side, her hands blazing. She was still shielded by his blade, but she also looked like a fire spirit, intimidating to anyone who didn't know she couldn't fight.

"If that's right, why would you ever attack us?" Sparks danced through her hair and along her eyelashes.

Beside her, Shin-Ah stood silent and ready, prepared to attack at any moment. The raider took another step back, staring at them as if he had been visited by death itself.

Maybe that's what they looked like to him.

Shin-Ah glanced down at Lien and she met his eyes, honey brown meeting masked gold. There was an understanding there and an acceptance he wasn't used to, except from his friends. She wasn't a monster to him and he wasn't one to her. He changed his grip on his sword and moved forward, raising it above his head as if going for the killing strike. The raider yelped and spun around, running back toward the barricade.

That was easy. When he looked around, it seemed that the clansmen and the warriors had defeated the raiders. People were cheering, and he could hear Jae-Ha and Kija arguing about who had taken out the most raiders somewhere beyond the barricade. Now they would need to round up their prisoners and tend to the wounded.

He moved back toward Lien and Kyung. Her fire was out, and she was kneeling by her brother, pressing the tattered remains of her cloak against his wound. "You're so dumb," she scolded her brother, tears in her eyes, "I hope Yoon's really mean when he stitches you up so you never do something as stupid as fighting two guys at once ever again."

"I don't plan to," Kyung said, a half-smile on his face. He reached out and ruffled Lien's hair before looking over at Shin-Ah. "Thank you for saving her, Shin-Ah."

Shin-Ah nodded and dropped down into the snow on Kyung's other side. The wound looked bad, but maybe it wasn't as deep as it appeared. Gently, carefully, he pulled Kyung's arm across his shoulder and lifted him onto his feet. Lien got under his other arm, acting like a crutch due to her height.

Together, the two of them carried Kyung over to Yoon's makeshift infirmary, where the boy started fussing. That was his way of showing concern. "See! See, this is why actors shouldn't try to be fighters. Put him down here." He gestured toward a pallet, and Shin-Ah lowered Kyung onto it. He was half-conscious now, groaning as he touched the floor. "Now, move you two, I've got work to do."

Lien wiped a few tears off her face, moving back from the pallet. She hovered nearby, and Shin-Ah stepped over to her, inspecting her for wounds just in case. He took her by the wrist and look carefully at her arms. Her sleeves were scorched all the way up to her shoulders, and pieces of cloth were missing. However, her skin didn't look burned at all.

"What're you doing?"

"Are you hurt?" he asked, turning her arm over.

She shook her head and then reached out, touching his upper arm. "You are, though."

Now that she pointed it, his right arm did sting. Up near the shoulder, one of the raiders had managed to get in a good slice, raking an axe across his arm. It was shallow but it stung.

"There're bandages over there," Yoon said absently from where he was working on Kyung. "Take them and go patch up Blue, will you, Lien?"

"Okay…" Lien walked over to the basket that Yoon had gestured to and picked up a roll of bandages, a bowl and cloth, and a jug of water. Her eyes kept going back over to Kyung. Slowly, more people were filing in, though it was mostly clansmen dragging in injured raiders.

Shin-Ah and Lien made their way to a bench along one of the walls. "Sit, please," Lien said, and Shin-Ah promptly sat down and shirked off his robe. Lien rolled his sleeve up, exposing the bleeding gash. Dipping the cloth into the water, she wrung it out and began to gently dab at the blood on Shin-Ah's arm. Her touch was careful and caring, and Shin-Ah found himself staring at her. She was smudged with soot and ash, but she was still so…beautiful.

"Are you tired?" he asked.

She smiled a little. "Not that much."

He reached up and tried to take the cloth from her, knowing she was probably lying. Using her fire seemed to tire her out, and he didn't want her taking care of him when she should have been resting. However, she moved her hand away from his and frowned at him. "I said I was fine, Shin-Ah. Let me help you. I want to."

All right. He lowered his hand and let her work, her agile hands staying busy. While she was wrapping the bandage around his arm, Yona and Zeno came running into the infirmary, Hak walking behind them.

"Lien! Shin-Ah!" Yona exclaimed as the three of them headed over. "Shin-Ah, are you hurt?"

It wasn't that bad, and he didn't want Yona to worry, so he shook his head.

Hak raised an eyebrow. "Then what's with the bandages?"

"He was wounded, don't let him fib," Lien said, tucking the end of the bandage away. She rolled Shin-Ah's sleeve down, her hand resting on his wrist for a moment. "Thank you again, Shin-Ah." She bowed to him, her hair swinging into her face, and she hurried off, probably to tell her parents about her brother.

Shin-Ah touched his arm where the bandage was and watched her walk away, though part of him wished she would stay. He liked it when she was beside him.


	15. Chapter 15

After the raiders attacked, the clan took a few days to put everything back in order. The raiders were stashed in a cave near the back of the clan's village, where they would stay until the clan left in the spring. They would take the prisoners with them to the nearest town to be tried by the local magistrate and hopefully locked in jail for a good, long time. For now, the raiders would have to survive on stale bread and water.

The sun was out and the sky was actually a nice grey-blue as the clan gathered at the edge of their winter quarters to say goodbye to Yona and her group. Since the weather had temporarily cleared up, it was the perfect opportunity for them to leave the village.

Lien stayed near Kyung, letting him lean against her as their parents gave Yona's crew supplies and packs of food. With Kyung and others in their clan injured, she had chosen to stay behind and help her family. It wouldn't be right to leave when they needed her, even if it felt like she was splitting in two.

"We'll miss you all," their mother said as she hugged Yona. She held the red-headed princess at arm's length and smiled at her. "You can always get in free to our shows, if you see us."

"You're going to make us broke, little sister," Mama Ro said, stepping forward. She sized Yona up and then nodded at her. "We're indebted to you and your friends, though, so I guess free passes are a good trade."

"We're grateful for everything you've done for us," Yona said, tears standing in her eyes. Quite a few of their group were teary-eyed, and the clan wasn't exactly all stoic either. Friendships had been formed since Yona's group arrived, and no one really wanted them to go.

A couple of the little girls rushed forward, tugging on Yona's cloak. "Miss Yona Lady, we made you something!"

"We made everyone something."

"So you won't forget us!"

They held up a bunch of flower crowns, the flowers made out of carefully cut pieces of cloth. The clan used crowns like that for costume pieces, but there was one for each of the dragons, Hak, Yona, and Yoon. Yona put hers on immediately and hugged the little girls. When she stood back up, she met Lien's eyes and walked over to her, holding out her arms.

Lien met her halfway, hugging the princess tightly. After sharing a room with her and joining her in battle, Lien felt like she had made a close friend.

"I'm going to miss you," Yona said, smiling through her tears, "You've been so nice to us."

Lien hugged her again. "I'll miss you too." She looked past Yona at the guys, her own smile turning watery. Why was letting them all leave without her so hard? She had spent her entire life making friends and leaving them behind as her family traveled from town to town. It shouldn't be so hard this time.

Suddenly Zeno was hugging her, too, his bright yellow hair brushing her nose. "Zeno is going to miss Kirin, too!"

Kirin? Well, that sort of made sense, seeing how he called the others by their dragon names.

"You're an amazing dance partner," Lien said when they parted, Zeno's hands in hers. She grinned at him, blinking back her tears. She had to stop crying. "Honestly, you're really good."

"Lots of practice," he said, winking at her.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Yoon asked, stepping toward her. His eyes were red-rimmed and he screwed up his face to keep from crying. "It'd be nice to not have to worry about firestarters."

She laughed and wrapped her arms around him, ignoring the question. She wanted to say yes, of course she would go, but her family… Her parents, Kyung, Jala, Han-jae, Mama Ro. "You're more than capable of starting a fire, Yoon. You're like a fire-making genius."

"I'm actually a general all-around genius…"

"Thank you for bringing us here, Lien," Hak said as he walked over to them. He reached down and ruffled her hair. "We wouldn't have made it without you and your brother."

"And we would've been lost without all of you," she said. Unable to stop herself, she hugged him. Her clan was very physically affectionate, and hugs were just their natural way of saying goodbye. "I know you'll take care of Yona, but…take care of Yona?"

He gently hugged her back and nodded. "Of course."

When she pulled back, Jae-Ha and Kija were standing there. Kija bowed to her, his lower lip quivering. "You and your clan were the most gracious of hosts, and we are appreciative of everything you've done for us in our time of need."

"You can just say you'll miss her, Kija," Jae-Ha said, smirking. He reached out and took Lien's hand, pulling her toward him. Bending down, he kissed her forehead. "For luck." He grinned down at her as she rolled her eyes, amused by his flirting. "But I know someone who's going to miss you more than any of us." Taking her by the shoulder, he turned her and gave her a gentle shove, straight toward Shin-Ah.

Lien caught herself, lifting her eyes to Shin-Ah's mask. His flower crown was sitting cock-eyed on the horns, and Ao was sitting on his head, trying to eat the flowers. She covered a smile and gestured for him to bend down, which he automatically did. Rearranging the crown so it sat on his head instead of the mask's horns, she tried not to think about him leaving. She shouldn't have gotten attached or interested or, well, anything. This was just the logical conclusion of everything, wasn't it?

When she finished, he didn't straighten up automatically. Instead, he looked at her, and she wondered what he was thinking behind that mask. Silently, he reached up toward his neck, fiddling with something. The shorter of his two necklaces slid off, and he took her by the wrist. He pressed the necklace against her palm and then curled her fingers around it.

Lien stared down at her closed hand and then tightened her grip around the necklace. Shin-Ah didn't have much to give, and this must have been precious to him. She wanted to give him something too, in case they never saw each other again.

Quickly, she hooked his necklace around her neck and swiftly unwrapped the silk ribbon from her wrist. A small glimmering silver pendant hung from the band, a gift from Mama Ro. She held it out to him, the ribbon dangling and the pendant catching the light. Shin-Ah hesitated before taking it and tying a knot at the ends. He looped it over his head and it rested where his own necklace had been.

For a long moment, the two of them stood there, watching each other. Lien wanted to reach up and pull his mask away so she could see his eyes and try to figure out what he was thinking. Instead, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, her face pressing into his robe. She felt his hand resting on the small of her back while his other hand pulled her closer.

"Don't forget me, all right?" she mumbled.

"I won't." His hand brushed against her cheek as they pulled apart.

She gave him a small smile before walking back to her family, her hand on the necklace he had given her. Yona's group and her own clan were staring, at least until everyone started yelling goodbye. She watched her friends as they left, taking the path that would lead them through the mountains and down into the hill country. She stayed even as the others in her clan left, going back inside to get out of the cold.

Eventually, she turned to go back inside but found her way blocked by her mother. She reached out to poke the necklace Shin-Ah had given Lien. "What are you doing?"

"Going…inside?" she said, reaching up to touch the necklace again.

Her shook her head. "No, what are you doing with your life, dear?"

"This is my clan. It's where I belong." Wasn't it?

"Yes, and we love you and never want you to leave, but we also don't want to keep you from your destiny. And, sweetheart, I think your destiny is walking away right now."

Her mother was…giving her permission to leave? "I want to, but...I'm scared." Her whole life had been wrapped up in the clan, but she did feel like she wasn't supposed to be here anymore, not really. The people who really needed her were moving farther away with every passing moment.

Her mother gathered her close and kissed her cheek. "It's all right to be scared. But don't let that stop you."

Lien took a deep breath, feeling like her life was teetering on the edge of a huge decision. Go. Stay. Family. Destiny.

A sense of calm and peace wrapped around her. She knew what to do.


	16. Chapter 16

"Shin-Ah, don't mope."

He wanted to tell Jae-Ha that he _wasn't_ moping. He was just walking slower than usual. And if he kept looking over his shoulder, that was because he was keeping an eye on the trail. There was always the chance that a snow leopard would hunt them down. That's why he kept looking behind them, back toward the village.

He wasn't watching for Lien. She wasn't coming. She had decided to stay behind with her family, and he didn't blame her, so if he was watching the trail, he was just...doing his duty as the team's lookout.

"Leave him alone, Jae-Ha," Hak said from near the front of the group. He and Kija were making sure the way was clear for the rest of them, pushing back any snow blocks or trees that had fallen into the path. So far, they hadn't come across many large obstacles.

"You know, she looked like she wanted you to kiss her," Jae-Ha said.

Shin-Ah stumbled over a stone and then caught his balance again, shaking his head. No, no, she did not. She had just looked like a normal girl, saying goodbye to a friend. She couldn't have wanted him to kiss her. Why was the green dragon so weird.

Jae-Ha grinned. "Yes, she did. Trust me, I know far more about women than I can ever teach you, but that's my lesson for today. When a girl looks at you like that, she's hoping you'll find the courage to kiss her."

"Jae-Ha, stop torturing Shin-Ah," Kija scolded, "If Lien wanted a kiss, she could have asked for one."

Jae-Ha stared at the white dragon. "Do they even have girls in your village?"

"Of course!"

"Did you ever talk to them?" Jae-Ha laughed. "Because most girls don't want to have to ask like that."

"You don't know every single thing about every girl in the country, no matter how experienced you are," Kija said, making a face at Jae-Ha.

Shin-Ah sighed and tuned out of their conversation, focusing instead on petting Ao. The little squirrel was riding on his shoulder, nuzzling into the side of his neck as if she knew he wasn't happy. She kept offering him walnuts from the stash the clan had given him before he left, and he would occasionally take one, nibbling on it.

Something bumped into his side, and he looked down to see Zeno walking beside him, his hands behind his head. "It's a pretty day, isn't it?"

A few wispy clouds drifted through the grey-blue sky, and the sun glinted off the snow and ice. Everything looked pristine and new, like a world covered in diamonds. Shin-Ah nodded.

"It's a good day for a hike," Zeno continued, and he stretched his arms out toward the sky, "And a great day for even numbers!"

Huh? Shin-Ah glanced down at the yellow-haired dragon, confused. Even numbers? Sometimes Zeno made absolutely no sense, even to Shin-Ah.

They headed around a tight turn, the tree branches coming together overhead to shield them temporarily. Shin-Ah took a deep breath and tried to enjoy the weather, like Zeno obviously was. It was just hard leaving behind people who accepted him and a girl who... He reached up and touched the silver pendant of her necklace absently.

He was not moping.

"They gave me a ton of herbs and spices," Yoon was saying to Yona, holding his shoulder bag open so she could see the new containers inside. "They had stuff from practically everywhere, so I'm going to experiment a little."

"As long as no one keels over from your messing around with stuff, that'll be fine," Hak said.

"Have a little more faith in me," Yoon said.

"I'll try whatever you make!" Yona declared, "Since Hak's too afraid, I don't mind."

"No one said that I was afraid."

"You just said you were worried about people dying because of Yoon's cooking..."

"That's not—you're twisting my words, princess," Hak said, making a face at Yona.

Shin-Ah watched the others bicker and tease one another, but it wasn't as fun as it usually was. He kept feeling like something was missing. Like he was lopsided.

Glancing back the way they had come, he looked for any sign of danger or... Wait. A flash of cream and light blue. There was movement on the path. He focused, letting his dragon's sight take over. A moment later, he whipped around and started walking back in the other direction, toward the village they had just left.

"Seiryuu, where're you going?" Zeno asked. When Shin-Ah kept walking, he grabbed his arm and tugged, though that still didn't slow Shin-Ah down. "Hey!"

By now, the others had noticed that Shin-Ah was attempting to abandon them. Hak rubbed the back of his neck. "Shin-Ah, you can't force her to come with us!"

"What're you doing, Blue?" Yoon asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Shin-Ah!" Yona called, tilting her head to the side. She raced after him and caught hold of the edge of his robe, making him stop. "Where are you going?"

"She's trying to catch up," he replied, pointing back down the path.

In the distance, beyond the last curve they had passed, there was a small figure walking the path. She was wearing a dark brown pack on her back and a light blue dress. Her cloak was cream-colored, almost blending in with the snow but not quite. Her pace was quick and light, as if she was trying to push herself to go faster.

"Lien!" Yona said, clapping her hands together.

"Are you serious?" Hak said, eyes widening. "I could've swore she made up her mind."

"We should go back and get her," Kija said firmly.

"No need for all of us to go," Jae-Ha said. He shrugged off his pack, set it on a nearby rock, and leapt into the sky.

Shin-Ah watched him soar across the gap between their part of the path and Lien's before he landed in front of her. Lien took a step back, startled, then Shin-Ah saw her laugh as Jae-Ha gave a dramatic bow. The green dragon took her pack and then scooped her up into his arms, waiting until she had her arms securely around his neck before taking off. A delighted scream echoed through the mountains and Jae-Ha landed in the middle of their group, a smirk on his face.

"I do believe we have a new member," Jae-Ha said, letting her down. "May I re-introduce our new kirin?"

Lien's hair was windblown and her cheeks were flushed with exhilaration as she curtsied in front of Yona. "Princess, I would like to join your quest, if you'll have me."

Yona nodded and then laughed, throwing her arms around Lien. "Of course!" The two of them started talking rapidly to each other about Lien's family and how she had decided to leave and come with them.

"Jae-Ha, I think you lost your title for took-the-longest-to-join," Yoon said.

"How unfortunate."

"We should probably start hiking again, now that we're all here," Hak said, casting an amused look in Lien's direction, "Somebody was ridiculously late and now we're behind schedule."

Lien gave an apologetic smile. "I'll walk fast."

As the group started walking, Lien took her pack from Jae-Ha and moved toward Shin-Ah, a blush on her cheeks. Ao squeaked and jumped over to her, nuzzling her and climbing up to sit on top of her head.

"Do you want your necklace back?" she asked, "Now that we're...traveling together?"

"Do you?" he asked, hand already moving to take off the necklace she had given him.

Her hand darted out and stopped him, her fingers curling around his. "No. No, keep it."

He squeezed her hand, and they followed after the others. Now there were eight of them. Even numbers... He glanced to his side at Zeno, who looked very pleased. Shin-Ah felt better now, too. He tentatively ran his thumb over Lien's knuckles.

Balanced.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so happy people are enjoying this story! It's a really slow romance since it's Shin-Ah… ^_^ I'm having fun with it though!

It took the group three days to hike out of the mountains and into the hill country part of the Fire Tribe's lands. Snow covered the ground, but it wasn't nearly as deep as it had been in the mountains. There was more ice than snow. It clung to the ground, coating it with a glassy sheen and making slippery patches on the deer path they were following.

Now that they were in the Fire Tribe's territory, they were being more careful about staying off the main roads. The countryside was well-known for being overrun by gangs, bandits, and ambushing groups, so they weren't taking any chances. Zeno turned out to excel at finding random paths that animals followed, which was how they found the deer path out of the mountains.

Lien was walking along beside Yona, the two of them staying toward the middle of the group. She had figured out early on that the pattern the group traveled in was often Shin-Ah and Kija, then Yona and Yoon and Zeno, with Hak and Jae-Ha coming last. The pattern occasionally changed, but often that was where they fell out. Lien shifted around the group, sometimes walking by Yona and Yoon and sometimes walking beside Shin-Ah.

"We should reach the outskirts of the village by tomorrow," Yoon said. He was walking along, holding the map in front of him, tracing the path with his quick eyes. "We'll have to do some reconnaissance when we get there and figure out what we're really dealing with."

"I wouldn't be surprised if it was actually the Fire Tribe army and not bandits bothering the village," Hak said.

"The Fire Tribe wouldn't harass their own people, would they?" Kija asked.

"You'd be surprised..."

Over the past few days, Lien had picked up on the fact that Hak wasn't very fond of the Fire Tribe's leadership. Actually, he seemed to hate them. Which made sense after Yona had explained what they had done to the Wind Tribe's water supply.

The politics of countries had never weighed heavily on Lien's mind. The only thing she had ever really cared about was whether or not a place allowed theater and what they did or did not allow culturally. Maybe it was a bit of resistance to her prescribed role as a kirin, but she just had never paid much attention to the intricacies of governments.

Now she needed to be more invested in understanding where everyone in Kouka Kingdom stood, which was why she had been quizzing Hak, Yoon, and Jae-Ha for the past few days. They seemed to know the most about the interactions between the tribes of Kouka Kingdom, especially Hak.

"We're going to need to set up camp soon," Yoon said.

"Preferably somewhere out of the way," Hak said with a frown, probably thinking about protecting the camp.

"Good luck with that, this is literally the way everything is going to look for leagues around us," Yoon said, gesturing toward the landscape. "We might find a copse of trees, but that's about it." The land around them only had a few sparse trees, and there wasn't much natural shelter. There didn't seem to be any game either, not even rabbits, so hunting was out of the question unless someone was going to shoot down a bird or two.

Actually, Yona could probably do that. And Hak also was skilled with a bow. As far as Lien knew, everyone except for Yoon and Zeno was talented with some kind of weapon and Zeno seemed very adept with a shield. Lien didn't necessarily want to learn how to shoot a bow or wield a sword, but she also didn't want to be useless on the battlefield. She had a feeling that the attack with the raiders wouldn't be the last fight she would see with this group. Her ability to create fire was handy but relying on it in a battle was probably not the best idea.

"I think I need a weapon if we're going to be fighting often," she said, looking over at Yona, "Preferably something that can't catch on fire."

"Hmm, so not a bow, then," Yona replied with a grin.

Lien laughed. "Exactly." While Lien liked the idea of a bow as a weapon since it was long-range and could be used for hunting, it wouldn't be very useful if she accidentally caught it on fire during a fight.

"I would say a staff, since I think you could pick that up quickly, but again, they're wood," Hak said. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Unless it was a iron staff."

"Yeah, no, Lien's a beast but she's not a physically strong beast," Yoon pointed out, "No offense, Lien."

"None taken."

As if summoned by the conversation, Shin-Ah appeared beside her, his hand brushing against her arm. It was hard to tell with the mask, but his body language said he wasn't entirely pleased with what they were talking about.

She glanced up at him, guessing at what was stressing him. "I just think it would be good to have something to defend myself with. I don't plan on becoming some kind of amazing warrior or anything." Lien wanted to be able to stand up for herself and have a way to protect herself in a fight without using her fire-starting abilities. She also didn't want Shin-Ah to have to worry about her or come rescue her like he had the other day.

"Using your power makes you tired, doesn't it?" Yona said.

"If I use it for too long, yes," she replied, nodding, "So I could use a weapon to help balance that out." A smile tugged at her lips. "Besides, sometimes I don't want to set everything ablaze, you know?"

"Probably not a sword then, seeing how the hilt would have to be leather," Hak said before he made a face at her. "Are you sure you really want a weapon?"

"Definitely."

"I could teach you how to use knives," Jae-Ha said, "You might be good at it."

Mmm, the knives Jae-Ha used didn't have anything flammable on them except for the ribbons, but those would be easy to remove. That was certainly an option.

"Does Kirin know how to dance with fans?" Zeno asked, "Because there's a weapon you might like…"

"The tessen fan," Hak finished for him, looking down at her and nodding. "It requires some skill and coordination, but since you're already trained in using a fan for dancing, it might work, especially if you combine it with knives."

"A fan?" she asked uncertainly.

Beside her, Shin-Ah's mouth was a straight line of displeasure.

"They're made of metal and have a razor-sharp edge," Jae-Ha said, "Beautiful and deadly. I can teach you how to use one."

"Really?" Hak asked, raising an eyebrow at the green dragon, "I've never seen you use one before."

"I prefer knives, but the captain taught me a variety of fighting styles," Jae-Ha said. He gave Lien a wicked grin. "Add in a couple senbon needles, and we'll turn you into a deadly fire vixen."

"No, thank you, I'd rather just defend myself," Lien said, holding up her hands.

Hak and Jae-Ha started talking about where they could secure more weapons, while Lien slowed own her pace, dropping back. As she expected, Shin-Ah slowed down too. They walked behind the others, and she looked up at him questioningly.

"What's wrong? I think it's a good idea to learn self-defense," she said.

He kept looking forward, but his hand twitched into a fist. "I don't want you to get hurt. Weapons…invite danger."

Lien was quiet for a moment, giving herself time to think. He had a point, but so did she. "We're already sort of inviting danger," she said, "I mean, we're going to go try to liberate a village from bandits. So, we're heading into danger."

He stopped and turned toward her. "I can protect you."

Something warm blossomed in her and she wrapped her hand around his arm. "I know. But I want to help protect myself." She gave him a bright, teasing smile. "Then you won't have to feel like you need to keep an eye on me all the time."

"I like to." He said it so softly, she almost didn't hear him.

"What?" Her eyes widened, and she looked up at him.

"I like keeping an eye on you." A red blush grew on his cheeks and he turned forward rapidly, hurrying to catch up to the front of their group as if his look-out skills were suddenly very much in need. Her own cheeks grew hot but she smiled to herself. She wasn't going to say it out loud, but she was fairly certain that she liked Shin-Ah as more than just a traveling companion.

And maybe he felt the same way about her?


	18. Chapter 18

"I wonder when they'll come back," Yona said.

Lien looked up at her, watching the princess poke at their small campfire while she gazed out at the horizon. Hak, Shin-Ah, Yoon, and Kija had gone to spy on the village, leaving the others behind at their makeshift camp. Yesterday, they had found a small, out of the way place that they could use as a base while they figured out how to deal with the town's bandit problem.

"They'll be back before sunset," Jae-Ha said. He perched on one of the nearby rocks, his left leg drawn up to his chest while his right leg dangled. "Or maybe not. Shin-Ah can see in the dark, after all."

"They'll come back by then. They know the little miss will worry about them if they don't," Zeno said, giving Yona a big, warm smile. He was sitting on the other side of the fire, roasting one of the birds that Yona and Hak had shot for them earlier. Yoon had been very insistent about the fact that the food was supposed to be cooked before the rest of the team came back to camp, so Zeno had been forced to help out.

Lien was used to cooking for her family, so she was technically in charge of dinner. Once she had joined the group, Yoon had remembered that she knew how to cook, and so he often enlisted her for cooking duties while the others worked on different chores. While she was only a decent cook, she didn't mind the task. There was something soothing about cooking, and it helped keep her mind busy so she didn't get too homesick in the evenings.

She had a second bird speared on a stick, slowly turning it over the flames. She had rubbed both birds down with spices that Yoon had left behind, carefully choosing a couple types that would work well together. Hopefully the others would be back by the time the food was finished cooking. Otherwise, she would have to keep Zeno from eating it all. The yellow-haired young man was a ravenous, bottomless pit. Maybe she would just ask Jae-Ha to sit on him if he attempted to chow down on the meal too early.

"We need to go get some more water," Jae-Ha said. Nimbly, he jumped down from the rock, landing elegantly beside Yona and extending a hand to her. "Would you like to accompany me to the riverside, Yona dear?"

"So formal," Yona teased gently, but she took Jae-Ha's hand and let him pull her to her feet. She grabbed her bow and quiver before they both walked over and picked up some containers for the water. Lien reached over and handed Yona the pouch sitting between her and Zeno. "We'll be right back."

"Unless we get distracted," Jae-Ha said with a smirk. He took off while Yona followed right behind, asking him what he meant by that.

Yona seemed to have trouble realizing when guys were flirting with her. Maybe it was because she was young and had been sheltered for long, but she did seem rather oblivious to flirtations. Especially when they were from Hak. It had become very clear to Lien, even before she started traveling with the group, that Hak adored Yona and was devoted to her beyond the normal bodyguard-noblewoman dynamic. Somehow Yona didn't see it. Or maybe she was ignoring it?

Lien spun her stick slowly, and juices dripped down into the fire, sizzling against the coals. On the other side of the fire, Zeno licked his lips and his stomach growled, maybe her giggle. "It won't be long now, Zeno."

"Zeno doesn't know how much longer he can wait," the blond said, his stomach growling louder, "It smells so good." He leaned forward and his own stick nearly dropped into the fire, but he quickly pulled it back up.

Smiling, Lien leaned a little closer, enjoying the warmth of the campfire against her cheeks.

"Kirin," Zeno said, and she looked up to find him watching her with a curious expression, "Can you feel heat and get burned?"

Lien nodded. "Yes, if it's not my original fire." While she could control fire that she didn't create to an extent, she couldn't keep it from hurting her or others. Her own fire and heat that sprang up from the kirin's blood within her was hers to control without stipulations. "It takes a little longer for me to get burned than other people. I guess I'm fire resistant in that case."

Zeno nodded, seeming to be quietly amused at something she didn't understand. "I can relate."

For a moment, she looked at him carefully. Whenever he didn't call himself by name, he was being more serious than usual. She wondered what he meant by saying he could relate, and again, she thought about what it meant to have a strong body. There were so many mysteries revolving around the yellow dragon, but she wasn't going to pry. He was kind and gentle and warm-hearted, and she thought of him as a friend. If he needed to keep a few secrets, that was all right by her.

They were both quiet for a long time, simply enjoying each other's company, and then Zeno started to hum a tune that Lien recognized. It was an older song but a favorite of her mother's. She had sung it so many times during their travels that the words were seared onto Lien's heart, and it made her think of home and her family.

It couldn't have been Zeno's intention, it was a simple and popular song, but the homesickness that she had been fighting so hard against welled up in her, wrapping tightly around her chest. It was a deep, steady pain, one that she had been cheerfully ignoring since making up her mind to travel with Yona and her crew.

She missed her mother and father, her siblings, her aunt, her friends. She missed the evening dances and songs that swelled through her home, filling it with music. She even missed arguing with Kyung and the chores she did around their winter quarters. Everything was different now, and while she loved being with her new friends, she missed the comfort and familiarity of home with a sharp ache.

"Lien! Are you all right?"

Someone plucked the stick out of her hands and thin arms wrapped around her. Lien found herself pressed to Yona's shoulder, the other girl hugging her. She wasn't aware that she had been crying until she realized that she was staining Yona's outfit with her tears. Hastily, Lien pulled away and brushed at her eyes, blushing as Jae-Ha, Yona, and Zeno looked at her, all of them concerned.

"Are you hurt?" Yona asked, "Why were you crying?"

Lien shook her head. It wasn't fair to Yona. Lien didn't think it was right to admit that she was homesick when Yona didn't even have family to go home to. She could imagine that the princess was far more homesick than she was, and there was no remedy for her. There wouldn't be a reunion for her and her father like there would one day be for Lien and her own father.

"I think some ash got in my eyes," Lien said softly, wiping her sleeve across her face, "It just stung for a moment. I'll be all right."

None of them seemed to believe her, but they also didn't try and pry it out of her either. Instead, Jae-Ha handed her a pouch of water and ruffled her hair affectionately. "You should wash your eyes out, then," he said, "Your doe eyes are too pretty to get all puffy with tears."

That got a small half-laugh out of her, and she did wash her face with a small handful of water while Jae-Ha finished her part of the cooking. To his credit, he only burned the bird slightly on one side. Everything was finished and Lien was feeling somewhat better by the time the others walked back into camp, Kija ranting about the injustice going on in the village and Yoon making grumpy suggestions about how to fix it. Hak immediately went to Yona's side and started to fill her in about the situation while Shin-Ah plopped down between Lien and Zeno.

Ao scurried down Shin-Ah's arm and leaped over to Lien. The squirrel dashed over Lien's lap and then curled up on her knee, making herself at home. Lien smiled and scooped her up, pressing her to her face and then petting her back.

Gentle fingers touched her chin and Shin-Ah turned her face toward him with a careful touch. "You've been crying," he said, and he ran his thumb underneath her eyes as if wiping away the tears that were no longer there. "Why?"

"I'll tell you later," she whispered. She should have guessed that Shin-Ah would somehow be able to see the signs of tears.

"Promise."

"I will," she said.

Shin-Ah nodded then looped an arm around her waist. Silently, he slid her closer to him, so she was nestled against his side. He couldn't protect her from her own emotions, but he was doing the best he could. Lien leaned against him, letting him support her. "What'd you see in the village?"

"It's bad there," he said, "There's not enough food, and soldiers and bandits take what little people have. They're suffering."

And she was crying over missing her family. It made her feel guilty, and she wished she hadn't promised to tell him why she was crying. It felt trivial next to so much physical pain. "We'll help them." Yona would make sure of it. It's why their group had traveled so far anyways.

Shin-Ah nodded and leaned against her, too, so that they supported each other.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This'll be a short snippet chapter, but I sort of just wanted a tiny bit of Shin-Ah/Lien fluff before jumping into more drama and action. POV will probably just switch back and forth between the two of them in this snippet. 3rd person omniscient!

The moon was so round and beautiful, it looked as if Lien could reach up, pluck it from the sky, and hold it like a child's toy in her hands. She and Shin-Ah were sitting on the massive rock that the group's camp was tucked behind, keeping an eye on the landscape. Technically only Shin-Ah was on watch, since Yona, Yoon, and Lien weren't on the official rotation, but Lien was keeping him company.

Below them, their friends were asleep. Lien noticed that Ao was sleeping on Zeno, who was curled up around the space where Shin-Ah usually slept next to him. They really did act like brothers, as Kija always insisted that they were.

Back when they had been hiking out of the mountains, the white dragon had walked along beside her and told her the whole story behind the four dragons and King Hiryuu. While she already had the story memorized, her performer's heart loved hearing other people tell stories, and Kija said it all with such conviction. He truly believed in the purpose of the four dragons, and to her, that was endearing and admirable.

A soft, warm breeze ruffled through her light green hair, brushing it across her face until she pushed it back behind her ears. Tomorrow, she would ask if Jae-Ha had any extra bands to hold back her hair. It needed to be washed and braided, but there were no rivers nearby and they couldn't waste their precious water supply on such trivial matters.

Beneath her hands, the rock was scratchy and cold, but the sun had melted away the patches of snow that had clung to it that morning. It was difficult to escape the sun here in the Fire Tribe's lands, where trees were scarce and villages were far and few between.

Leaning back on her palms, she raised her eyes to the stars, basking in the soft silver light that lit up the few remaining bits of snow on the ground.

Shin-Ah looked away from staring at their surroundings to instead stare at Lien. She glowed in the moonlight, like she had been plucked from the heavens and placed beside him, a star turned human. She took his breath away.

While he was Yona's dragon, the way he was beginning to feel toward Lien was something…else. Something different. What was this feeling?

"There's the Doe," she said, pointing up at the sky, eyes reflecting the stars, "And the Stag." She leaned closer and made patterns in the air with her slender fingers.

He didn't see a doe or a stag around, and if they were nearby, they certainly weren't in the sky. Shin-Ah wondered if she was feeling well, but she didn't look sick. Instead, she looked quietly happier, much more so than she had that afternoon.

"Didn't you learn the constellations?" she said, turning toward him.

He shook his head rapidly. Ao must not have thought it was important, and the rest of his village never tried to teach him anything. It was only thanks to hard work and determination that he was able to read and write.

"You're missing out," she said, her tone gentle. "Follow my hand, we'll start with something simple." She pointed to a bright star, the farthest star in the North. "In my caravan, we call that the Clear Lady," she said, and then moved her hand down and diagonally. "If you connect her with these other stars, it forms the Seven Dancing Sisters. We perform a dance in the summer where we act like we're the sisters. I'm usually one of the middle ones." A shadow passed over her face and she lowered her hand.

Lien tried not to feel sad, but she was again reminded that things would be different from now on. She had no idea when or if she would return to her clan. If Yona became a true leader of the nation, she might never go back. That was the future and the fate of any kirin who followed their path.

"You promised."

She lifted her chin to find Shin-Ah looking at her. Oh, right, she had said she would tell him why she had been crying. Attempting a smile, she shook her head. "I miss home. I'm homesick. Do you ever get homesick?"

"It's…different." Did he miss them at all? He didn't miss being alone or living in a cave with only Ao or their stares and whispers and the insults spat at him. He missed his mentor, but he had passed away so long ago. "Home's here." He gestured toward the sleeping figures below them, and Lien smiled.

"Maybe they'll be my family, too."

He nodded rapidly, knowing they were swiftly adopting her. He could feel the others pulling her into their small makeshift family, adding her to the fold.

She grinned, a sudden bright expression in the darkness, and she laid down on the rock, gazing up at the stars. "I'd like that."

Shin-Ah had to pull his attention away from her to look back at the countryside around them, but it was hard. Much harder than it should have been. What was wrong with him?

 


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longer chapter this time! Let's visit the random Fire village! From here on out, the plot will probably vaguely include some plot points from the manga. It won't be exact, of course, and it might veer totally away from the manga plot, I'm not sure yet, but there shall be some spoilers.

"I'm going."

"Princess, you should stay."

"No, I'm definitely going this time."

"It's not safe."

Shin-Ah turned his head back and forth between Hak and Yona as they argued. He wasn't sure why exactly Hak tried to argue with Yona when she got like this. He always ended up giving in. When Yona decided she wanted to do something, she would figure out a way to make it happen, even if her way was unconventional. In this instance, she would probably just say she was going to go until Hak stopped trying to dissuade her.

It was early morning, and they were getting ready to go back to the village. However, no one was really sure who was actually going to the village just yet since Yona had decided that she was going. That usually meant that everyone would be going.

He munched on the flat biscuit that Yoon had made for breakfast and pulled another piece of it off for Ao. She snatched it up and stuffed it into her mouth, puffing her cheeks out. Gently he rubbed her head, a silent reminder to chew her food and not choke. Once she finished eating, she jumped out of his hands and dashed over to Yona, climbing up her cloak to sit on her shoulder.

On the other side of the fire, Zeno and Lien were doing something that involved clapping their hands together at different times, keeping a rhythm between the two of them. Shin-Ah didn't understand what they were doing, but they seemed to be having fun. Was it a game? They kept repeating a pattern, changing the speed from time to time whenever one of them called out an animal name. They kept getting faster, and every fifth time they said an animal, they struck the ground before continuing.

"Crab," the yellow dragon said, and they sped up.

"Boar," said Lien. This time they slapped the ground in-between them, both hands hitting the dirt before they continued, again going a little faster. Shin-Ah popped the rest of his biscuit into his mouth, trying to figure out the point of the game.

"Rabbit."

"Trout."

"Tiger."

"Rabbit—wait, oh no!" Lien laughed, quickly pulling her hands away, but Zeno grabbed her hands and tugged her back toward him, grinning.

"Kirin lost!" he declared, shaking his head at her, "Zeno gets a prize and Kirin gets punished! It's the rules of the game."

Even though she had lost, Lien was still smiling. "All right, but we have to play again. You keep winning."

"Zeno knows a lot of animals," he said. Releasing her, he gave the tops of her hands a very gentle slap before turning his face away from her, humming pleasantly. "Zeno claims a kiss as a prize. Fork it over."

"You scoundrel," Lien said, her tone teasing and light, "You're picking up bad habits from Jae-Ha." She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek before sitting back. "Come on, let's play again." Holding up her hands, she tapped Zeno's fingers, eager to start playing.

Oddly enough, Shin-Ah found that he was more interested in the rules of the game now.

Beside him, Jae-Ha leaned over and nudged him in the side, his sharp elbows digging into Shin-Ah's arm. "Don't you want to play? That's a rather nice prize, after all."

Shin-Ah shook his head. He had no idea how the game worked, except it involved animal names and slapping people's hands a certain way. If he went over there, he would only be a bother since they would have to teach him everything. He didn't even know that many animals…

"Shin-Ah, sometimes you have to live a little." Jae-Ha grabbed him by the arm and suddenly he was being pulled to his feet and dragged to the other side of the fire. He tried to dig his heels in, but Jae-Ha's tugging was very insistent. Lien and Zeno both stared as Jae-Ha pushed him down next to Yoon, who had been watching the other two. "Let's teach Shin-Ah how to play their game so he doesn't feel left out."

"Zeno and Kirin could—Ape—teach him."

"Eagle—I wouldn't mind, we could stop."

"Eel!"

"Lizard!"

"You guys go too fast," Yoon said, making a face at them, "And you get too excited, he would never be able to keep up." He looked at Jae-Ha and raised an eyebrow. "Do you even know how to play?"

"I think I understand most of it," Jae-Ha said, sitting down. "You clap out a pattern and every time you reach the end of the pattern, you have to say the name of an animal." He held up a pointer finger. "However, the name of the animal has to begin with the last letter of the previous animal name. Correct?"

"Right, but you have to go faster with each name, and every fifth name, you have to slap the ground before saying the next animal," Yoon said, "If you lose, you get slapped on the hand, but if you win, you get to ask the winner to do something."

"Can I play, too?" Kija said. He had walked away from Hak and Yona's argument and over to them, looking interested but a little shy. "I played this game with my grandma sometimes when I was little."

"Sure," Yoon said, gesturing for Kija to sit across from Jae-Ha, "You can help teach these guys."

"Kija, don't slap me with your claws if you win," Jae-Ha said, "I like having hand attached to my wrist."

Shin-Ah quickly caught only the clapping part, but the animal names were a little more difficult. He knew them, but it was hard to say them quickly enough. However, Yoon was a patient teacher and didn't enforce the punishment rule, saying they were just practicing.

"What're you all doing?" Hak stood behind Jae-Ha, his foot on Jae-Ha's back. "Isn't that a kids game?"

"I'm indulging the young ones," Jae-Ha said, smirking up at Hak.

Yoon rolled his eyes. "You're the one that wanted to play."

The green dragon looked unperturbed. Nearby, Lien and Zeno cut off their game to turn their attention to Yona, who was looking particularly victorious.

"I'm going to the village today with whoever else is going," she said, folding her hands together in front of her. Ao climbed down her arm and made a flying leap from her to Lien, where she curled up on top of the other girl's head.

"But there are bandits," Yoon pointed out, getting to his feet, "And soldiers from the Fire Tribe might show up."

"I'm going to wear a cloak," she said, "And Hak said he'd go as well."

"Obviously," Hak said.

"If the princess is going, I'm going, too," Kija said.

Jae-Ha stood up, a hand on his hip. "Count me in."

"Can I go?" Lien asked, looking at Yona, who nodded immediately.

"Of course," she said, and she held out a hand to Lien. She helped Lien to her feet, smiling at her. "We can go together! We'll just look like two girls going to the market."

"There's not a market," Hak said, "And where were the rest of us going to be while you're out play-acting?"

"Watching from a distance," Yona said.

Judging by the look on Hak's face, he didn't like that answer. Actually, Shin-Ah didn't either. They weren't helpless, but he didn't like the idea of Yona and Lien wandering through the town by themselves. It wasn't a nice place.

"We're going to stand out," Yoon said with a sigh. He reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose for a second and then looked at Hak. "We might as well stand out in a group. Do you think soldiers will be there today?"

"I don't think so, since they were there yesterday," Hak said, "It might be calm there today."

"I want to see it," Yona said, determination in her voice, "Let's go."

After breaking down camp, the group headed off to the village. The closer they got to the edge of the settlement, the quieter everyone became. It was like an oppressive air dropped down on them, taking the earlier mood and squashing it. Shin-Ah could see the villagers in the distant, skinny and pale, most of them either elderly or young children. Hak had said that all of the men had been taken by the Fire Tribe to be in the army, which didn't make sense to Shin-Ah. Wouldn't the villages thrive and produce better things for the capital if there were men to help work the fields and take care of their families?

As they reached the edge of the village, the dark feeling became worse. Everyone here seemed hopeless, and that clung to the village. He saw Lien's expression crumple, her eyes wide as she looked around at the desolation. She was walking between him and Jae-Ha, and Shin-Ah wondered if he should take her hand, if that would make her feel a little better. Maybe he should let her borrow Ao.

"You look surprised, Lien," Jae-Ha said.

"I am…I heard it was bad in the Land of Fire and you guys told us last night, but I didn't really realize it was like this," she said quietly. She reached up and anxiously toyed with her necklace, the one that had belonged to Shin-Ah. "We only ever stopped in Saika."

"The capital city is very pretty," Jae-Ha said with a nod, "And the night life is spectacular. But the Fire Tribe general doesn't care very much for his citizens."

"We'll fix it," Yona said, "We'll help them out." As if to show just how sure of herself she was, she marched off toward one of the elderly people sitting outside and knelt down beside them, talking softly.

"I'll make sure there aren't any soldiers or bandits about," Jae-Ha said before taking off into the sky.

Yoon sighed. "These people need food, water, and medical attention. Shin-Ah, Kija, can you two go get water? There's a river not too far from here. Lien, help me cook, would you? That way I can take a look at some of the sicker villagers."

"What about Zeno, kid?" Zeno said.

"Even if I give you a job, you'll just do you own thing," Yoon said.

"True, true, Zeno will play with the kids," he said with a soft smile and trotted off toward the group of kids who was staring at them. Shin-Ah glanced over at Lien who gave him a shaky smile before turning and following Yoon.

"Let's go, Shin-Ah," Kija said, "Or wait, we need to find buckets first…"

 


	21. Chapter 21

For the next few days, the group continued to sleep outside of the village and walk in to help the villagers during the day. As a performer, Lien had done a lot of traveling, but her caravan only stopped in cities and towns that were prosperous enough to support the caravan. They had gone past villages like this one before, but their caravan didn't stop. There was no point, the people here didn't have the time or money for dancing and plays and music. In the places where they did stop, her aunt and parents forbid her from going into the slums of the city.

She had never seen poverty like this before. Each day in the village was a struggle to survive. People were still starving or stricken with illness, and there was nothing to give them hope since the fields were barren and water was scarce and far away. Their group had started going hungry, sharing all of the food they had with the villagers. Slowly, things were improving around the village, but they expected the bandits to come back any day. According to the villagers, each time the bandits came, they stole what little food and supplies the village had, which made it impossible to pay the taxes the Fire Tribe government required. Lately, the bandits had been threatening to take the children as well.

The guys were the most helpful around the town, since they could be put to work repairing the houses and buildings after years of neglect. Shin-Ah, Hak, and Kija were out gathering more wood from wherever they could find it while the rest of the group made themselves useful where they could.

At the moment, Lien was entertaining a passel of children while Yoon took care of their mother inside their shack. The woman had been carrying a bundle of firewood when she had slipped and fallen; Yoon was pretty certain she had broken her wrist. She had five children, ranging from infancy to seven years old, and Lien had her hands full. Yona was helping, though by the awkward way she was holding the one-year-old baby, she didn't really have a lot of experience with infants or kids in general.

"Are you sure you don't want me to hold her?" Lien asked. She had the other four sitting in a semi-circle, keeping them busy by telling stories, but the four-year-old boy was getting antsy. He kept antagonizing his sister, inciting riot.

"I'm fine," Yona said, rocking the baby by shifting back and forth, looking like a teetering doll herself. "Like this, right?

Lien suppressed a smile. "That works."

"I wanna fight bandits," the four-year-old boy said, jumping up and grabbing a nearby stick. He waved it in the air and then innocently jabbed at Lien. "Be a bandit!"

"I don't think I'd be very good at that," she said, "I'm not very intimidating."

"Are you sure?" Jae-Ha asked as he walked past, carrying building materials for repairing some of the houses. "I could have sworn you're the one that catches on fire."

Lien made a face at him as the kids reacted exactly the way Jae-Ha had wanted them to. They sprung at her, grabbing onto her clothes, excitement on their thin faces. She was nearly pulled off the rock she was sitting on as they tugged at her.

"You can catch fire? How do you do that?"

"Is it like Mr. Kija's hand?"

"I see, I wan' see!"

"Magic trick! Do it, do it!"

"Yes, show them your scary magic trick, Lien," Jae-Ha said, his voice full of teasing.

"Thanks, Jae-Ha," she said as the green dragon kept walking, a smirk on his face.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," Yona said. She was now holding the baby in her lap, where she peered around and giggled at her siblings.

"It's all right," Lien said, extending her hands, "You guys are going to want to step back."

The four children sprang back and bounced up and down in anticipation. Taking a breath, Lien spread her fingers and beckoned to her flames. Fire sprung to attention on the tips of her pointer fingers. The kids squealed at the sight of it, and the youngest clapped. She focused, using this as a chance to practice being more detailed with how she used her flames.

Slowly the flames lengthened, becoming more like strings of flame, and they twisted around her hands like snakes, threading between her fingers. This was a lot harder than just letting them catch on fire, and it was starting to tire her out.

The fire dissipated, and the kids cheered. Two seconds later, they surrounded Yona.

"What can you do?"

"Can you make fire?"

"Show us more magic tricks!"

"I, well, I'm not…" Yona looked back at the kids and then over at Lien, who grinned back at her.

"You can shoot a bow," she said, "That's really cool." She thought Yona was awesome besides her archery skills, but kids weren't exactly impressed with things like 'leadership potential' and 'compassionate nature.' They wanted flashy, showy talents.

"Right, I guess there's that," Yona said, hugging the baby closer, "Maybe I could show you some archery?"

"Yeah, do it," the four-year-old boy demanded. Yona stood off and passed the baby to Lien before grabbing her bow and quiver. The group headed out of the village to a small place where there was an old, rotting archery target.

"Our dad practiced here," the eldest, a girl said. Her brown eyes were sad as she looked at the target in the distance. "He's in the Fire Tribe army. He hasn't been home since right before Asa was born."

"I hope your dad gets to come home soon," Yona said softly, and Lien felt her heart tug. Poor Yona, she had lost her own father not so long ago. She couldn't imagine that kind of pain.

"He'd like it if someone used his target," the girl said, "Please shoot well."

"I'll do my best," Yona said. She drew an arrow from her quiver and notched it before aiming at the target. It was lopsided and dark with rain damage, but there was still a circle there. She left the arrow fly and it went in with a solid thunk, disappearing halfway into the old target.

The kids thought that was just grand and showed it by whooping and hollering.

"That was fantastic, Yona," Lien said, "You're so good at that!"

"Thanks, I still need to practice more."

Honestly, Yona was better at using the bow than anyone in Lien's caravan. In Lien's arms, the baby laughed and pulled on a lock of her hair, tugging her head. "Ow. Okay, all right, let's let go…" A couple of the kids ran off toward the target to retrieve the arrow.

The sound of hoofbeats made both of the girls look toward the west, where a cloud of dust was rising. Lien stared and then looked at Yona, who was startled as well.

"Come back!" Yona yelled at the two kids who were still running toward the target which was in the path of whoever was approaching. Horses appeared over the rise, and Yona took off toward the two little boys, bow in hand.

"Yona!" Lien handed the baby to the little seven-year-old who was starting to cry. "Go back to the village, tell them bandits are coming. Go!" She gave the girl a firm push toward the village and then raced after Yona and the boys. Everything in her told her that even though she was scared, she had to keep Yona and those kids safe. How exactly she was going to do that was a mystery to her, but that's what the kirin fire was for, right?

One of the bandits closed in on the boys, but before he could reach out to grab either of them, Yona shot an arrow at him. It found home in his left shoulder, forcing him back. Yona shouldered her bow and grabbed the children by the hands before turning and running back toward the village.

The injured bandit recovered quickly, jerking the arrow out of his padded shoulder armor and tossing it. Drawing his sword, he charged at Yona, intending to run her and the boys down. Panic seized Lien. No, no, this couldn't be happening. She raced forward and fire leapt to her hands, danger wrapping around her palm. Yona dashed past her with the two kids, and Lien let her flame burst forth, catching the approaching bandit.

She would never forget that scream as the fire clung to the bandit, catching on his clothes and hair. It was terrible.

Lien stumbled back and then turned to realize Yona had sent the boys on ahead and was standing behind her, bow raised. "Yona, run!"

"No, we have to make them leave."

And how exactly were they supposed to do that?! It was just the two of them, they didn't have the dragons or the Thunder Beast. The other bandits had caught up with them, and now they were surrounding Yona and Lien while a couple of them dragged their comrade off his horse and beat at the flames. Lien didn't extinguish her fire and Yona didn't put down her bow. They stood back to back, both of them trembling but determined.

"Get away from this village," Yona said, "It's our place now, and you just better get out of here, you brats."

Was Yona affecting an accent? Lien recognized it, it was from the coast of the Earth Tribe, and it would have sounded funny coming out of the princess under other circumstances.

"They're really pretty," one of the bandits said, ignoring Yona's threat, "I want to play with them."

"That one's on fire," another one said.

"It's just a trick, she must be wearing gloves."

"The redhead is sexy."

"You should go," Lien said, then winced at the uncertainty in her voice. She was scared, but she couldn't let them see that. She needed to act. She was good at acting. "Leave now." That was better.

"Let's take 'em."

"I want the redhead."

"They're...mine." It was the man that Lien had set on fire. His eyes were full of hate as he looked at her, and Lien backed closer to Yona, frightened. That expression. He didn't just want to kill her, he wanted her to suffer.

"Don't touch us!" Yona shouted.

Lien spread her hands, and her flames forced the nearby men to pull their horses back. She wasn't sure how long she could keep this up, but she would protect Yona with everything she had. Luckily, she didn't have to worry about doing that by herself. She just had to hope that reinforcements arrived in time.


	22. Chapter 22

Keeping flames going consistently for this long was exhausting. Maybe with more practice, Lien would be able to keep her fire blazing longer, but for now she was reaching her current limit. Once it was gone, she wouldn't be able to do anything to protect Yona and that would make her so very useless. She was really going to have to demand some weaponry training after this… Assuming there was going to be an "after this."

Lien's fire wavered, playing around her fingers instead of blazing from her palms, and the bandits closed ranks, tightening the circle.

"You should get out of here before you really regret it, you bunch of idiots," Yona said, an arrow trained on one of the bandits, "We're not alone."

"Really? Are there other girls running around with weapons they can hardly use?" a bandit asked. That got a chuckle out of some of the others.

"What, are you part of a girl gang?"

"You look super dangerous with your cute little angry faces!"

The bandit that the girls had hurt stepped through the horses, his eyes narrowed at them. Hatred emanated from him, and in response, Lien's fire grew brighter, forcing him back.

"Don't come near us," she said, one hand held up toward him.

He flinched but when she didn't shoot flame at him, he didn't step backwards. "I'm wondering how long can you keep that trick up."

Lien tried not to look unnerved. "As long as I want."

"Yeah, right."

Behind her, Yona shifted, her back pressing against Lien's. They just had to keep the bandits busy for a little while longer, right? The little girl should have made it to town by now, so hopefully it wouldn't be long before she found Jae-Ha.

"Boss, I'm getting tired of waiting," a bandit said, his tone whiny. "Can't we take 'em, raid the village, and then have some fun with these two?"

"I told you, they're mine," growled the leader.

"Then you can have fun with them, I don't care. I just want to do something."

The leader suddenly smirked. "Tu-Dol, Erat, Pol, you three stay here. The rest of you, bring back what food you can and pick up a couple kids. We can sell them in Retsu."

"No!" Yona shouted, but none of them paid any attention to her.

The majority of the bandits pulled their horses back and took off toward the village at a full gallop. Yona shot an arrow after them, but it soared harmlessly over the shoulder of a bandit. Lien's heart pounded as she watched the remaining bandits start to come closer, taking their chances that the girls wouldn't put up too much of a fight regardless of Yona's bow and Lien's fire.

Lien didn't give them any warning as she drew on the last of her energy, casting a blast of flame at the bandits that forced them backwards and caught the dead weeds in front of them on fire. Two of the bandits' clothes caught fire too, which distracted the leader and the remaining bandit. Her flame flickered out and Lien had to push through the wave of exhaustion to stay standing. Yona grabbed her hand, and suddenly they were running toward the village, the princess tugging Lien along as she tried to keep up on feet made of stone.

They were halfway there when she heard the hoof beats running up behind them, thundering across the ground. Lien gathered her strength and shoved Yona to the side as the bandit leader raced up behind them.

He snagged Lien's left arm and dragged her up onto the horse in front of him, and something in her shoulder popped out of place. A scream ripped out of her throat at the surge of pain, and for a second she blacked out as the horse spun in a tight circle. When she came to, the ground was a swirl of brown and yellow from her nearly upside-down vantage point and Yona was shouting. She felt sick and dizzy.

Something green flashed in the sun as the horse spun again, and she caught a glimpse of Jae-Ha landing in front of Yona before the bandit drove his heels into the horse's sides. It sprung forward, away from the village and back toward the plains.

She needed to get down. She had to get off the horse, but it was hard to think past the pain. Fighting back seemed impossible, but she was going to have to do something if she wanted to get out of this situation.

There wasn't any way she could make fire anymore, she couldn't focus. But that didn't mean she couldn't make things hot… It would probably knock her unconscious, but she had to do something if she didn't want to be abducted. Grabbing onto the bandit's leg with her right hand, she pulled everything she had left and sent it to her palm, making it scorching hot.

Something struck the back of her head, and Lien blacked out.

When she woke up, she was off the horse and in someone's arms, but her shoulder was still roaring with pain. She cried out, reaching for her shoulder, and the person who was holding her stopped walking.

"What's wrong with her?" Yona's voice asked, sounding worried.

"I don't know," Jae-Ha replied, "Lien dear, does your arm hurt?"

Lien gritted her teeth and nodded, realizing that it was Jae-Ha carrying her. She wasn't sure what had happened, but he didn't seem very rushed so she guessed the bandits had been taken care of. Forcing her eyes open, she looked over at Yona. The princess seemed all right, so that was a plus, and Hak was walking next to her. Zeno was on Jae-Ha's other side, and when Lien glanced at him, his eyes were sad and gentle.

"You'll will be okay," he said before looking up at Jae-Ha, "Kirin's shoulder is dislocated."

"I can fix that," Hak said, "Do you want to do it now or back at the village?"

"Yoon might want to look at it first, and we should get back before…well never mind, here comes Shin-Ah."

* * *

 Shin-Ah had been with Hak and Kija getting wood to repair some of the buildings when a boy from the village had come out to find them, shouting about bandits. The three of them had raced to town and swiftly dealt with the problem, tearing through the bandits easily. There were only nine of them in the village, harassing the people and trying to steal their food, and they weren't prepared for two dragons and Hak.

While he fought, he wondered where the others were, especially Lien and Yona. He hadn't seen Jae-Ha fighting, which was strange since usually he was in the thick of things. Maybe the green dragon was watching over Lien and Yona in one of the buildings, though Shin-Ah wasn't sure if he believed that. Hak broke away from Shin-Ah and Kija halfway through the fighting, and Shin-Ah was sure he was going to go find Yona.

When the fighting was over, Shin-Ah and Kija gathered the bandits in the middle of the village, keeping them together so they could decide what to do with them. Yoon appeared from one of the buildings and let them know that he wasn't sure where Yona and Lien were but Jae-Ha and Zeno had gone to find them. Yoon had stayed behind to protect a group of kids and their injured mother.

Shin-Ah noticed movement at the edge of the village, and his heart skipped a beat before he took off running toward Jae-Ha, Zeno, Hak and Yona. Jae-Ha was carrying Lien, and the look on her face was one of agony.

"She'll be all right," Jae-Ha said as Shin-Ah rushed up to him, "She's just a little worse for wear."

Shin-Ah wanted to pull her out of Jae-Ha's arms and fix whatever was hurting her immediately, but he was scared of causing more damage. Also, he didn't know what was wrong. She looked like she was in so much pain, and he wanted it to stop.

And on top of that, he wanted whoever had done this to her to stop _existing_.


	23. Chapter 23

Zeno must have noticed the anger emanating from Shin-Ah. He appeared at Shin-Ah's elbow, his hand resting on the young man's arm. "She'll feel a lot better soon, I promise. Her shoulder just needs to be put back in place."

That helped cool Shin-Ah's temper somewhat, but he still looked around, knowing he would find the man who had hurt Lien. If Hak and Jae-Ha had been around, the person wouldn't have gotten far. He finally spotted the crumpled figure in the field. It was a man in his thirties, dark hair, burn marks on his skin, and blood covering the ground around him.

Shin-Ah glanced over at Jae-Ha, a dark unspoken question hanging in the air between them.

Jae-Ha gave a small, curt nod. "It's taken care of." That meant the man was either mortally wounded or dead already. They weren't a group that was wantonly violent but when one of their own was hurt…they were much less likely to show restraint.

"It's my fault," Yona said, tears brimming at the corners of her violet eyes. "I wasn't strong enough, and she was trying to protect me."

Shin-Ah doubted that Lien would blame Yona at all. Like the rest of them, she was devoted to the red-haired princess and while her role might be slightly different, it was natural that she would want to protect Yona. He was proud of her, though he sincerely wished she hadn't gotten hurt in the process. Maybe he didn't need to be so against her training for combat… He couldn't stand to see her hurting like this.

In the green dragon's arms, Lien stirred and flicked open her honey brown eyes. "No," she said through gritted teeth, "No, Yona. Not your fault."

"Hey, be quiet," Jae-Ha said gently, "You're supposed to be resting."

"Okay…" Lien's gaze met Shin-Ah's, and she forced a weak smile. "Hey. Don't look…so upset. It's…not that bad."

Shin-Ah shook his head at her. She didn't have to pretend to be okay for him, he could tell that she was in a lot of pain. Even though Jae-Ha was being careful with her, it was easy to see that each step he took made her wince and grimace.

They walked back into the village, where Yoon raced to meet them. "What happened?" he demanded as he dashed toward Jae-Ha, "How'd she get hurt? She has fire powers!" Ao, who had been with Yoon, leapt from the boy's shoulders to Shin-Ah's. She chittered unhappily and pressed up against Shin-Ah's neck. Reaching up, he absently scratched her cheek, her presence calming him.

"Lien and the princess were chased down by the bandits," Hak said, his tone dark.

"Sorry," Lien mumbled.

"That's not—Don't apologize." Yoon made a face and looked at Yona. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Yona said. Her lower lip trembled, and she bowed her head. "I just wish I could have done more."

There weren't many clean, comfortable places in the village, but Yoon had Jae-Ha settle Lien down on a few folded-up old blankets under one of the few trees. Shin-Ah pulled the fluff off of his mask and bundled it into a pillow-shape so she could have something soft to lay her head on.

While Jae-Ha went to help Kija keep an eye on the captured bandits, Hak stayed behind to help Yoon with Lien's dislocated shoulder. He apparently had a lot of experience with that kind of injury since it was common enough on the battlefield and in training. Yona stayed nearby, tears still lingering in her eyes, at least until Yoon sent her out.

Shin-Ah didn't know how he could help, but he also didn't want to leave Lien's side right now. She had her eyes shut tight, and she was pale from the pain. Hesitant since he didn't want to cause her any more stress, he picked up her hand in both of his. He wanted to give her something to hold onto. A couple of her fingers wrapped around his, her grip weak and unsteady, and he very lightly squeezed her hand back.

Ao crawled down Shin-Ah's shoulder and moved carefully toward Lien. She touched the young woman's hair and then patted her head with both paws.

"It's going to feel a lot better soon," Hak told her, "But it's going to hurt like hell first."

"Okay," Lien mumbled.

Hak reached over and took her by the wrist and upper arm, which made her eyes fly open and her hand tighten around Shin-Ah's.

"Ready?" Hak asked.

Lien managed a tiny nod. Hak had to go slowly as he pulled her arm back into place, careful to get it correctly in the socket. As the bone pinched her muscle and tendons, Lien started to move and Yoon put his hands on her uninjured shoulder, holding her in place. She cried out, the sound cutting through Shin-Ah, but a moment later there was a soft popping noise.

A look of relief flashed over Lien's face as she relaxed against the blankets. "Thank you." Her grip on Shin-Ah's hand loosened somewhat, and he started to pull away. Her hand wrapped around two of his fingers, not letting go. Glancing at her, he threaded their fingers together, guessing she didn't mind if he held her hand.

Hak looked over at Yoon. "She'll need a sling."

"Already working on it," Yoon said, holding up a cloth he had taken from his bag. He tsked and reached over to examine the bump on Lien's head. "You really went all out on the injuries, didn't you."

She gave him a small, apologetic half-smile. "I'll do better next time."

"Lien," Hak said, catching her attention, "Thank you for looking after Yona."

"It's what I'm supposed to do," she said. She sighed and closed her eyes. "I'm still figuring this kirin thing out, but I know I want Yona to be safe. I wish I was better at it."

Hak shook his head. "You did just fine." Standing up, he looked over at Shin-Ah. "You're staying here, right?"

Shin-Ah hesitated. If he went out there around those bandits, he wasn't entirely sure what he would do. He could feel the pressure of the blue dragon's power pressing against the back of his eyes, answering the anger that he had felt earlier. Those men had been a part of the group that had hurt Lien. It would be easy to remove his mask and make them pay all at once, or there was always the option of using his sword. Slower but also effective.

"Shin-Ah, stay. Please?" Lien said, her eyes open to slits.

He nodded. What else was he going to do when she asked in such a plaintive tone?


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, if you're looking for a PERFECT Lien x Shin-Ah song, go listen to Moonsong by Adrian Von Ziegler. It's instrumental, which is the Best since Shin-Ah is so quiet, and it is soft, lovely, hopeful, light and dark. Also, again, this story may vaguely follow along the plot of the manga, though it will also deviate as well.

"The Darkness Dragon and the Happy Hungry Bunch?" Lien's eyebrows shot halfway up her forehead. " _Really_?"

"Don't pretend it doesn't fill you with terror," Jae-Ha teased.

"You put the word 'happy' in a gang name?" she said, still having trouble comprehending what she was hearing.

"And 'hungry,' don't forget that," Yoon said, sounding thoroughly unexcited, "So that means we're joyfully starving."

Lien slowly nodded. "And the Darkness Dragon is…?"

"Hak," Yona said, gesturing to the tall ex-general.

Hak smirked and pulled the brim of his new hat farther down to cover his face.

The group was sitting around a campfire out in the middle of the Fire Tribe's lands, a few rocks and trees blocking the light from being seen in the darkness. It had been over a week since the bandits had attacked and Lien had been injured, so while she was still wearing the sling for most of the day, she was feeling much better. Their group had been traveling between a few of the nearby Fire Tribe villages, helping people and doing what they could to alleviate the suffering caused by soldiers and criminals.

Since she was still healing, Lien had stayed at their makeshift camp by one of the villages while the others went to into the town for the day. Shin-Ah had wanted to stay behind, but she had insisted that he go with Yona. Shin-Ah had been staying close ever since the attack, and she didn't want him to feel like she was tying him down. Trying to get him to leave, however, had been a challenge. She had finally enlisted Jae-Ha and Kija to help cajole him into going with them. If someone did find her, well, she did have fire powers, even if that hadn't been enough last time…

At the moment, Shin-Ah was sitting cross-legged beside her, his knee brushing against hers. Ao kept jumping back and forth between the two of them, indecisive about who she wanted to be with.

While the rest of the group had been away, they had apparently run into some Fire Tribe soldiers and decided to create a bandit group of their own.

"So now we're fake bandits?" Lien asked, looking over at Yona.

"Definitely fake," Yona said, "Though it's a little fun being a gang leader."

"I couldn't help but notice you sounded a little like the captain, Yona dear," Jae-Ha said, grinning, "She would love that."

A faint blush colored Yona's cheeks. "I just tried to think about how she would say things. She's good at being scary."

Lien had heard about Captain Gi-Gan from Jae-Ha while they were traveling, so she wasn't entirely confused. She was still focused on their ridiculous new bandit name. She mouthed it silently to herself, trying it out. No, it was definitely silly. However, even if their name wasn't scary, she was certain that Kija, Hak, Jae-Ha, and Shin-Ah could be intimidating enough to make up for it.

"I hope your day was less eventful," Yoon said, glancing at Lien.

She nodded. "I didn't start my own gang while you were gone, if that's what you're asking."

"That'd be a tiny gang," Zeno said with a laugh.

"Wouldn't it, though? But anyways, I mended some clothes and fixed the hole in the tent," she said, glancing over at Kija, who blushed. He had been the one to put a gash in it in the first place by swinging his clawed hand around while talking. The white dragon had attempted to sew it up, but his stitches were huge and ugly and Yoon had taken them out.

A light touch on her forearm made her look at Shin-Ah. "Your shoulder?"

"It's feeling a lot better," she said, smiling at him.

"Okay, but don't overdo it," Yoon scolded, "You're still healing."

"I know, I know," she said, brushing her free hand through her mint green hair. She had taken it out of the braid she had been keeping it in earlier that day, and now she regretted it. If she wanted to put it back up, she would have to take her arm out of the sling and Yoon would fuss more. She should have put it back up before they returned.

Leaning back, she settled against a rock, looking up at the stars. There wasn't anything for them to eat that night since they had given it all to the local villages, so the fire was for comfort instead of cooking. Her stomach ached with hunger, but she could live through that. Maybe there would be something to eat in the morning.

Around their fire, conversations popped up and weapons were cared for. Lien watched Shin-Ah as he pulled a whetstone from his pocket and began to sharpen his sword. It caught the firelight and gleamed as if the flame had been trapped inside the steel. It reminded her that she still wanted to learn how to use a blade of some kind, and she was going to make sure someone taught her once her shoulder was healed.

A breeze ruffled her hair, brushing loose strands into her face. Back home, everyone would be inside by the fire like this, sharing stories and songs. Her little brother and sister would be arguing over who got the last piece of cake while Kyung tried to break them up. Her father would bring out his drum while her mother sung a song of spring to remind them that the snow and ice wasn't permanent.

"What are you humming?"

Lien lifted her head to find Jae-Ha standing beside her, a fond smile on his face. "I was humming?"

"A little, yes," Jae-Ha replied, "I think I know it, but it was too soft to tell." He settled his lanky self down next to her and instantly reached over to gently brush his fingers through her hair. "Hand me your hair band."

"Lien, set him on fire if he bothers you," Hak said.

Lien half-smiled and handed her hairband to Jae-Ha as she shifted, turning her back to him. He skillfully pulled his long fingers through her hair, gathering it back and beginning to braid. Next to her, Shin-Ah stopped sharpening his sword to watch Jae-Ha.

Drawing her forefinger through the sand, Lien tried to remember what she had been humming. It was probably Water Rise, a melody about the rain that came in spring to bring back life to the trees and flowers. She started quietly singing. If Jae-Ha liked the song, then she could use it to thank him for braiding her hair. " _Soft falls hope in sunset's light, water rise, the green morning to end the white winter night_ …"

Behind her, Jae-Ha began to sing along as well, his tenor a compliment to her soprano. He nudged her in the back, encouraging her to sing louder with him. " _Dew streaked silk of spider's hand, water rise, the end of snow's long hold on our land_."

Yoon's voice joined in next, pitched somewhere between Jae-Ha's and Lien's and adding to the harmony. A fourth voice threaded in amongst the others as Kija began to sing, uncertain and shy. Across the fire, Zeno spun, his hands up in the air, the edge of his coat nearly catching the flames. He danced his way around the fire while Jae-Ha and Lien wove their voices together. Zeno stopped in front of Yona and grabbed her hands so he could pull her to her feet. Hak tapped his foot on the ground, watching closely as the princess and the yellow dragon danced around the campfire.

Lien could feel Shin-Ah's eyes on her, even if she couldn't actually see them. When Jae-Ha finished her braid, she slid closer to Shin-Ah. As the others continued to sing, she gave him a soft smile and hummed the melody. He was hesitant and slow to begin, but he followed her example, humming along with her. When she switched the singing, he continued to hum, a steady accompaniment to her song. " _Rain fall, water rise, winter fade, spring arise_."

It was easier to ignore your hunger when you were focused on something else. Like friends. Like singing.

Like Shin-Ah's small smile.


	25. Chapter 25

"What are you doing?"

Lien heard Jae-Ha but she didn't look at him or answer, mainly because she would lose control over the pair of old cracked tea cups that were precariously balanced on her nose, one on top of the other. Beside her, a group of village children were watching the cups, probably waiting for them to tumble.

Their group had been slowly traveling through the Fire Tribe lands and attempting to bring some relief to the small towns and villages in the impoverished area. Hak, Kija, and Zeno had split off to go to Shuu Village while Shin-Ah and Yona had stayed back at the last town. Jae-Ha had offered to take Lien along with him to Katan so she could help, and since she was feeling slightly stir-crazy, she had jumped at the chance. Jae-Ha's presence was more precautionary than anything, but the villagers seem to like having both of them around.

Lien and Jae-Ha were watching over Katan, or rather, Jae-Ha was guarding the village while Lien did what she could for the townspeople. She had spent the morning helping Jae-Ha and some of the kids haul water then she had started brewing a thin soup that Yoon had sent while Jae-Ha repaired a roof.

She taught the kids a few rhymes while the soup cooked, and once they got bored with that, she balanced things the children brought her. Honestly, her little brother Han-jae was much better when it came to balancing acts, but she had a lot of practice.

Lien plucked the cups off her nose after a few more moments and looked over at the green dragon. "We're waiting for the soup to finish," she said, glancing toward the pot. Neither she nor Jae-Ha would be eating since it was for the villagers, but it did smell really good. Yoon had packed all of the ingredients and given her very specific instructions that she had followed the best she could. The two of them would eat later that night once they made it back to the others. It was just part of the job when you were one of the Happy, Hungry Bunch.

"So you decided to start balancing cups to pass the time?" Jae-Ha asked, amused.

"Maybe," Lien said with a grin.

"I can do it, too," one of the kids exclaimed. He took one of the tea cups from Lien's hands and put it on top of his head. He took a step forward, and it nearly toppled off onto the ground. Jae-Ha reached out and grabbed it before it could fall, and he passed it back to Lien.

"I think you might need some more practice," the green dragon said to the boy.

Lien stepped over to the cooking pot and bent down to stir the soup. Despite the good smell wafting from the pot, it was thin and wouldn't provide much nutrition, but it was better than nothing. At least their bellies would feel full for a little while.

She ladled a tiny bit out into one of the chipped cups and blew on the liquid, cooling it down. She knew if she just handed it to the little girl next to her, the kid would gulp it down and scorch her mouth. When it was cool enough, Lien held it out to the girl. "Can you tell me how this tastes?"

The girl snatched it out of her hands and downed it in a second. She smacked her cracked lips and shoved the cup back into Lien's hand. "More, more!"

"I guess it tastes all right," Jae-Ha said with a smirk.

Even with a whole pot on the fire, there wasn't enough soup for everyone in the village to have a full portion. But they were all able to have a little bit. Lien saw some of the adults give their portions to the children, and her heart wrenched. She had gone hungry a few times when things were tight with their caravan, but she had never starved.

Even now, when food was scarce and their group was trying to give most of their supplies away, she wasn't really starving. Just really hungry. She had a feeling that the guys were making sure that she and Yona received larger portions, which was silly seeing how they probably used more energy than her and Yona.

For the rest of the afternoon, she and Jae-Ha worked around the village, repairing buildings, helping the elders, and entertaining the children. Both of them sang while they worked, bringing a tiny bit of levity to a village who hadn't experienced much joy in a long time. It was strange, but Lien felt comfortable around Jae-Ha. He didn't really remind her of Kyung, but somehow she got the same big-brother feeling from him. It helped that he was so nice and friendly to her anyways, and while he flirted with her, she could tell it was only gentle teasing and not intended to be taken seriously.

When the sun began to set, Jae-Ha came to get her to take her back to the town where their group was currently based. She looked up from putting the last few stitches in a shirt hem to find Jae-Ha blocking the last rays of sunlight.

"You'll go blind trying to make such little stitches without light," he teased.

Lien smiled. "I'd have more light if you'd move."

Jae-Ha took one step to the side, giving her the light she needed. "We need to leave soon."

"I'm almost finished." She started sewing again, her fingers speeding along the shirt's hemline. "There's still more work to do here."

"The entire countryside is like this, Lien dear," Jae-Ha said, "We'll be working for long time. Let's go home for now."

She glanced up at him and saw him looking at the village, his eyes darker than usual. He seemed bothered by all the suffering around them, but he was hiding it well under his normal suave attitude.

After putting the last stitch in the shirt, she handed it over to the man it belonged to and bowed to him. "I hope it keeps out the cold."

"I'm sure it will," the man said, holding the shirt close. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Jae-Ha held out a hand to her. "Ready?"

She put her hand in his and he helped her to her feet. She took one more look at the village before she hopped up on Jae-Ha's back for the trip back to the others. "Are you sure you don't mind?"

"Apparently I am the team horse," Jae-Ha teased, "It's all right, Lien. You aren't Kija or Hak."

"You're the best-looking horse in the world," she teased right back, "If that helps."

Jae-Ha's shoulders shook, and for a second she thought she had offended him. At least that's what she thought before he started laughing. "I am a thoroughbred, after all."

Lien rolled her eyes. "Don't make it weird…"

Jae-Ha grinned at her over his shoulder and then took off. She held on tight as they soared through the sunset sky, the light painting the clouds pink and lavender and orange, bright as fire. It was beautiful, but she still hoped that Jae-Ha wasn't tiring himself out hopping across the countryside.

When they reached the town where they had left Yona and Shin-Ah, Jae-Ha landed on the outskirts of the village. Lien slid to the ground, her legs wobbly, and Jae-Ha reached out to steady her. He held on longer than necessary and Lien looked up at him. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know," he said, "Something doesn't feel right."

Now that he mentioned it, something did feel a little off.

"Where's Shin-Ah? And Yona?" Jae-Ha asked, eyes narrowing.

Lien lifted her chin, a chill running down her spin. Normally Shin-Ah spotted Jae-Ha returning and Yona would go to meet him, usually with Shin-Ah in tow. But this time there was no one. Jae-Ha's hand went from her elbow to her hand, and he headed toward where their small tent was pitched, keeping her with him.

They were halfway there when they spotted Hak and Kija with a group of bandits, the two of them glaring at the bandits as if they would happily tear them to pieces. The bandits, on the other hand, looked like they had seen hell and somehow managed to survive.

"I don't believe I like this," Jae-Ha said, his languid tone barely masking the concern in his voice. He wandered over to Hak and Kija, still keeping Lien's hand in his. She looked around for Shin-Ah, Yona, Yoon, and Zeno, but they weren't there. "What happened here?"

"These cretins attacked the village and killed a child. They tried to kidnap Yona, and hurt Shin-Ah," Kija snapped, murder in his blue eyes.

Jae-Ha went rigid, and Lien's heart lurched. They had killed a child? She thought of all the children at the last village… and Shin-Ah had been injured. "Is Shin-Ah all right?" she asked.

"Yoon's with him," Hak said quietly, "He'll be fine."

"And Shin-Ah fought all of these men off on his own?" Jae-Ha asked, his eyebrows raising in a question. "Or did Yona suddenly become extra fearsome with her bow?"

"Shin-Ah used his power," Kija said.

"Ah," Jae-Ha said, pursing his lips together.

Lien pulled away from Jae-Ha and took off toward the tent, rushing through the village. Now she could hear the sobbing, the crying, the villagers upset over the death of a child. Tears burned in her eyes as she ran, her vision blurring. Why did these things keep happening? Why did there have to be bandits and starvation and famine?

"Lien!" Yona's voice broke into her dark thoughts and she realized that she had run all the way to their small tent.

"Are you okay?" Lien asked, hurrying over to the princess. She was sitting on a small log outside of the tent, Zeno perched right beside her. Lien's eyes flicked to the tent where she knew Shin-Ah would be with Yoon.

"I'm fine," Yona said. There were tearstains on her cheeks, and her eyes were red-rimmed from crying. "Shin-Ah…Shin-Ah was hurt. And now he can't move…"

Right, the dark side of his power… Lien's knees were feeling weak, and she ended up sitting down beside Zeno. It wasn't fair, why did this have to happen to him? And the fact that he had used his power when he had always been so against it. He must have been so outnumbered and desperate.

The yellow dragon put his hand on her arm, his own eyes watery. "The boy is taking care of him. We won't worry too much, right?"

Lien nodded, but she couldn't help but worry. Still, she would put her faith in Yoon and his skills. She leaned against Zeno for comfort, taking heart in his and Yona's presence. It would turn out all right.

It had to.


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm glad people are sticking around for this fic! ^_^ I'll try to update faster, at least two times a week. This is sort of following along the manga, but it'll deviate from the plot from time to time.

Beige material fluttered above Shin-Ah as he woke up, the cloth caught in a gentle breeze. The top of the tent that Yona, Yoon, and Lien shared was the same color…this was the tent. Memories flooded back to him as he remembered the course of the afternoon, how Yona had almost been captured by bandits, how he had used his power.

Emotions raced through him, vying for dominance. He felt guilty for not being able to protect Yona better, shame for using his powers and losing control, gratitude that Yona accepted him even though his eyes were monstrous. A touch of lingering excitement, leftover from the way using his powers had made him feel invincible, as if he truly was a dragon. And worry, worry for Yona, for the villagers, but mostly for Yona.

Worry won.

"Yona?" he asked, trying to turn his head to look for her. But the double-edged sword, the paralysis, was still affecting him. That was the curse of Shin-Ah's power, one that he had only felt the full effect of once before, fourteen years ago.

Experimentally, he tried to wiggle his fingers or move his toes. At least he could talk and move his eyes. Was it ironic, that he could still use his eyes?

"Shin-Ah?" Yoon sounded tired, and when the boy appeared, hovering over him, he could see the worry on his face. "Oh, thank god, you're awake."

"Yona? Is she all right?" Shin-Ah asked, wishing he could sit up. He tried to force himself, to press his palms against the floor and sit up, but he couldn't move. A flash of panic spread over him, and he took a deep breath to fight it off. This was temporary, he reminded himself, it wouldn't last. This helplessness would only last for a little while, maybe a day or two, and then it would wear off. Right? Of course.

"She's fine, she's right outside," Yoon said, "You're the one we're all worried about. What were you thinking, you blue…furball…" A tear slipped down Yoon's cheek before he angrily wiped it away, a frown on his face. "You're supposed to be the least dumb one out of the beasts, Shin-Ah."

Shin-Ah stared, taken aback by Yoon's tears. Had he done something wrong? Was Yoon so mad at him he was crying with anger? Or…was Yoon upset because he had gotten hurt? Yoon often yelled at Yona and cried when she did something that got her hurt. Was that what was happening here? It seemed like it. Having friends after spending most of his life alone was confusing sometimes, but it did make Shin-Ah feel warm that Yoon cared about him.

"Yoon. Don't cry," Shin-Ah said.

"I'm not crying," Yoon snapped, "My eyes are reacting to the senjuso in the poultice."

That hadn't happened back in Awa, and Yoon had used the senjuso plant on dozens of people to heal their wounds. Shin-Ah knew that Yoon was telling a lie, but he let him keep his lie. It wasn't hurting anyone, and he didn't want to embarrass Yoon.

Although Shin-Ah couldn't move, he could still feel things, which meant he could feel Ao's bushy tail brushing against his cheek and her little warm body curled up against his neck. He wanted to reach up and scratch her head, thankful for her comforting presence, but his arm wouldn't cooperate.

"You got stabbed, you know that, right?" Yoon asked. He was checking the wrapping around Shin-Ah's stomach, his expression tense. "You're going to have to rest."

"The town…" He was supposed to help protect the villagers. He couldn't spend days on end in this tent, doing nothing.

"Thunder Beast and the rest of the beasts are keeping an eye on things," Yoon said.

Beasts…the other dragons. Kija, Zeno, Jae-Ha… And Lien? Their kirin. Did Yoon count her among the beasts? She had gone with Jae-Ha that morning to help the green dragon at another village in the Fire tribe's territory. Had she gotten back all right? He had meant to keep an eye on the sky so he would know when she was back. "Lien?"

"She and Jae-Ha came back a few hours ago," Yoon said, "She's fine, by the way. You worry too much."

Shin-Ah felt another bit of tension leave him, and he relaxed against the pallet he was resting on. If Yoon said that Yona and Lien were all right, he would believe him. Still, he would like to see both of them for himself.

Yoon put a hand on Shin-Ah's forehead. "No fever, that's good. You're going to drink some herbal tea later though. I'm not having you get ill."

"Okay…"

"Is he awake?!" The tent flap flew backward as Zeno tossed it open. His blue eyes widened as he spotted Shin-Ah and he made as if he was going to leap on him. "Seiryuu! Are you ready to play yet?"

"Hey, stop being so rambunctious, he's still injured," Yoon said, shifting so he could block Zeno. Zeno tried to dodge around him and Yoon moved again, raising his arms, keeping the bouncy blond away.

"Maybe we wait to play with Shin-Ah, eh?" Jae-Ha's voice said. He reached into the tent and caught Zeno by the back of the yellow dragon's loose robes. "At least 'til he's not half-dead?"

"He's not half-dead, Jae-Ha," Kija scolded. He squeezed past Zeno, followed by Yona. Kija's eyes were shimmery, and Shin-Ah recognized it as tears. "Right, Yoon?"

"Well, he's not going to die, if that's what you're asking," Yoon said, shaking his head, "Not as long as he listens to me and doesn't push himself."

"He won't," Kija said firmly.

Yona darted into the tent, moving past Kija and kneeling next to Shin-Ah. She had the same teary look that Kija had, and Shin-Ah wanted to shake his head at her. He didn't want her to cry. She grabbed his hand and gave his fingers a gentle squeeze. "Thank you."

He didn't know what to say, so he just looked at her, marveling at how easily she accepted him. Had there even been fear in her eyes when she faced him down earlier? How had she known that he wouldn't hurt her?

"He'll be better soon with the senjuso," Yoon said, "Besides, you dragons seem to heal fast."

Zeno glanced at Yoon and grinned. "Do we?"

"It's because we have to be well so we can protect Yona," Kija said, his voice full of purpose, "So we heal faster."

"Though Hak seems to heal about the same speed," Yoon said thoughtfully, "Maybe it's a beast thing."

"Hey, don't lump me in with the supernatural, thanks," Hak said. The dark-haired man appeared at the open tent flap beside Jae-Ha. He nodded to Shin-Ah, and Shin-Ah could see the gratitude in his dark eyes. Of course Shin-Ah would protect Yona. He would rather die than let something happen to her, and he felt guilty that he hadn't saved her faster. In truth, she had saved him… He wanted to squeeze her fingers back, to show her how much he was thankful for her, but his fingers still wouldn't cooperate.

"He'll probably be out of commission for a day or two, and he won't be able to fight for a while," Yoon said, giving Shin-Ah a stern look, "But I think the paralysis will start wearing off sooner than that."

"Then we can play," Zeno said, a mischievous look in his eyes.

"You're obsessed with playing," Jae-Ha said, ruffling Zeno's hair affectionately.

"You should be more serious about our purpose," Kija said, which earned him an exasperated look from Jae-Ha and a laugh from Zeno.

Shin-Ah looked at Yona and then past her at the tent opening. He wondered where Lien was. Yoon had said she was all right, but she wasn't here…the others didn't seem to be worried.

"Kirin is with the villagers," Zeno said, as if he could tell where Shin-Ah was looking even though he was wearing his mask. "She was here, but they needed her. Very much."

The sad tone in Zeno's voice told Shin-Ah this was probably about the child who had been killed. Lien knew songs of lament, songs of passing from the Fire Tribe, so maybe she was helping with the funeral preparation…

"She'll be back soon," Zeno said, patting Shin-Ah's arm. "Zeno will tell her you're awake."


	27. Chapter 27

Lien let the notes of the funeral song fade as she stood in front of the pyre, her hands clasped in front of her. The funeral preparations had moved quickly with the village helping to prepare the pyre and one of the elders delivering the rights as the family wept. They had asked Lien to sing one of the Fire Tribe's songs of passing since she knew it and their village singer had been drafted into the Fire Tribe's army.

As the wailing continued and villagers crowded around the pyre, Lien stepped back, fading into the crowd. She spotted Yoon and Yona standing hand in hand nearby and she slipped their way, coming to Yona's other side.

There was such desperation and despair in the Fire Tribe lands, you could almost feel it in the air, like an oppressive blanket of melancholy. Lien bowed her head as flames grew higher and the mother who had lost her son screamed louder. It was aching sound that pierced her, and she wanted to help, but only time could soothe a painful loss like that and even then, it would never truly leave.

A hand slipped into hers and gave her fingers a gentle squeeze. She glanced over to see Zeno standing beside her, his eyes dim and sad. He didn't say anything, but he gave her fingers another squeeze. The two of them stood and watched the pyre, paying their respects as the family and village finished the funeral rights for the child.

After a while, Zeno pulled on her hand, leading her away from the funeral and back toward their group's small tent and camping area. She followed him, letting him lead her, exhaustion laying heavy on her shoulders.

"How's Shin-Ah?" she asked as they made their way through the village.

"He'll be all right," Zeno said, "Ryokuryuu and Hakuryuu stayed with him."

Lien bit her lip, thinking about how Kija might be fussing over him and trying to be as helpful as possible while not knowing what to do. Kija was sweet and always eager to help, but he had led such a sheltered life, he didn't always know how to do simple tasks.

So she wasn't entirely surprised to find him standing outside the tent, looking in dismay at Shin-Ah's outfit that he had draped over a clothes line. Shin-Ah's clothes looked slightly shredded and there were far more holes in them than there had been yesterday.

"What happened?" she asked as Zeno rushed past her and darted into the tiny tent, yelling excitedly at Shin-Ah.

Kija looked at her, his eyes huge, as if he couldn't believe his own mistake. "There was an accident."

"Kija clawed Shin-Ah's clothes to pieces," Jae-Ha said. The green-haired man was sitting by the fire, stirring a pot of stew that Yoon had left over the fire. He smirked over at Lien. "He must have been thinking you would appreciate the result of his handiwork."

Lien rolled her eyes at him, not taking the bait. She was getting used to being goaded by him, and unlike Yona, she recognized when he was teasing her about a boy. A very specific boy, but… She reached out and put her hand on Kija's arm. "It's all right, they can be mended."

"Shin-Ah can wear some of my clothes for now," Kija said with a firm nod, "It's the least I can do."

The mental image of Shin-Ah wearing Kija's clothes was almost enough to make her smile. She went over and inspected the damage to Shin-Ah overcoat and tunic, putting a couple fingers through the hole left by the blade that had stabbed him. A shiver trailed down her back. He could have died. Perhaps a man who wasn't a dragon would have. Yoon had said it had been close, either way.

"Aren't you going to check on him?" Jae-Ha asked, and she glanced over, meeting his violet eyes with her honey ones.

"He's…well…" She wanted to, more than anything, but she was also very aware that his clothes were out here on the line, and while she had taken care of him before in a previous state, it seemed different now. The blush that hadn't appeared when Jae-Ha teased her a moment ago now appeared at the idea of going into the tent now. "Zeno and Yoon are with him. The tent's crowded."

"Mhmm." Jae-Ha stirred the pot of stew, looking back at the fire. "If that's what you want to tell yourself."

Lien made a face and continued to look over the rips and tears caused by Kija's claws. It wouldn't be hard to mend all of the little damages, though it would take some time. She and Yoon could probably share the work and get it finished within a day. In that time, Shin-Ah could wear one of Kija's soft but hardy robes, like the white dragon had offered.

"Are they fixable?" KIja said, worry in his voice. "I didn't mean to. I just wanted them to be clean."

"It's fine," Lien said, reaching out and putting a hand on Kija's arm, "You meant well. And they are very clean."

"And somewhat destroyed," Jae-Ha said.

Kija frowned at the green dragon and his shoulders slumped. "I didn't mean to make more work for anyone. I will fix them myself."

Lien bit her lip. "Do…you know how to sew?"

"No, but I can learn," Kija said, voice full of determination.

"It might take a little while to learn," Lien said, keeping her voice light and gentle, "Maybe while Yoon or I fix Shin-Ah's coat, you can practice on something else?"

"Like something no one will ever see," Jae-Ha said, amused.

Lien shot him a sharp look, one that was meant to tell him to be quiet. She didn't want to discourage Kija, but she also wanted Shin-Ah's coat to not disintegrate in the white dragon's strong hand. His stitches would most likely be, er, vigorous and ruin whatever he was working on, at least until he learned to temper his strength.

Kija nodded. "I would find that acceptable."

"Then we'll certainly find you something to work on," Lien said. A blanket would be fine, right? It wouldn't matter how enormous the stitches were if he practiced on a blanket. No one would see it besides their group. They would just have to be careful to not waste thread.

"Good, I'll go look for something," Kija said before heading off toward the village. Lien almost called out to stop him, but he seemed so determined, she decided against it.

"Lien, come help me with this stew," Jae-Ha said, tapping the spoon on the edge of the pot.

"All you're doing is stirring it," she said, "Certainly a pirate dragon can handle that much." But she walked over anyway and sat down beside him, wrapping her arms around her legs. It seemed like it had been so much time had passed by since they had come back from the other Fire Tribe village.

She hummed quietly as she watched the fire crackle and jump, its warmth spreading across her face. Destructive but necessary, enticing but dangerous. That was fire, right? Beautiful and deadly. There was a positive side to fire, and she knew that the tribe wasn't all bad. The people in the villages wanted better lives and did what they could, but their leader was cruel and greedy, using his people as if they were commodities, just things instead of actual living beings.

As a member of a traveling caravan, she had seen hardship in the tribe lands of Kouka Kingdom, but it had never truly affected her, if she was being honest. Yes, they would occasionally stop and give a free show or pass out a few food items, but they didn't stay long. The caravan would simply move on to a city where they could receive payment, since they had to have money to eat. Maybe she should have tried to do more for people like this. Asked to stop more often in poor villages and little towns…

"Such a serious face," Jae-Ha said, his arm brushing hers as he leaned toward her, "It's going to freeze like that if you keep frowning that way."

"Just thinking." She leaned against him, her head tilting to lay against his shoulder. "I think I'm a bad person."

Jae-Ha glanced at her. "What makes you say that?"

"I should have helped people like this while I was in my caravan," she said, "I just…" She wrapped her arms around her legs tighter. "I guess I didn't care enough."

There was a long stretching silence, one that sunk into Lien's skin and clung there. She deserved that silence.

"I doubt that was the case," Jae-Ha finally said, "Maybe you could have cared more. But I wouldn't say you're a bad person." He turned his head toward her and reached out, touching her chin, affection in his eyes. "Just a young one."

"Really?"

"Really," he said, "And you're trying to help now. That's not something to turn your nose up at." He shook his head at her. "So stop beating yourself up, dear."

"You make me miss my brother," she said, tears biting at the corners of her eyes. The homesickness for her family and her caravan that had dulled into an ache was sharpened for a moment, like a wound inside her that his kindness had reopened. It was quick, though, and she was able to patch it up faster than she had been able to when she first joined their group.

"I am so much better than your grumpy older brother," Jae-Ha said with a laugh, reaching up to run a thumb across the corner of her eye, taking away her tears. "But I'll be your older brother for now, if that helps."

A few more tears escaped and she rubbed them away with the side of her hand. "I'd like that."

Jae-Ha smiled at her before reaching over and pulling her hood up and over her head, hiding her face. "Don't cry. It makes your face all red."

While Jae-Ha tended to the stew, Lien decided to make herself busy. She got up and started finding their bowls and utensils so everyone would be able to eat once they returned to the camp. She had all of them lined up by the fire when Zeno tumbled out of the tent, followed by a harassed-looking Yoon.

"You're so boisterous, it's impossible for anyone to get rest when you're around," Yoon said, shoving her hair back with both hands. He sighed and then narrowed his eyes at Jae-Ha. "Are you burning that?"

"Nope, Mother, I'm stirring it diligently," Jae-Ha said, holding up the spoon as proof. "I'm not an expert, but I do think it's almost ready."

"Mmm…" Yoon walked over and then glanced at Lien. "Hey, Shin-Ah's been asking about you. Can you go show him you're fine?"

"Me?" she asked, blinking at the boy, "Of course I'm fine." She hadn't been in any danger the whole day. He was the one who was injured and had faced bandits and why in the world was he asking after her after he had been through all that? Flustered, she swept her hood back and headed for the tent.

It was quiet inside, but she could tell Shin-Ah wasn't asleep. The moment she stepped through the tent opening, she remembered that most of Shin-Ah's clothes were out on the line. Her cheeks heated up, and she had to reach up and give her face a little pat. It wasn't like it was a big deal…he was all covered up with a blanket anyways. She shook her head and sat down beside him, which Ao took as an invitation to jump onto her knee.

"You're all right," Shin-Ah said, his soft voice breaking the silence.

"Definitely," she said. Her hand hovered over his, a bit of hesitation in her actions. "But you're not. You shouldn't be worried about me when you're the one that's hurt."

"You were…far away."

"But we didn't see any officials or bandits. It was a quiet day." At least until she and Jae-Ha had returned to the village.

Shin-Ah's fingers twitched, and she reached out, taking his hand in hers. His fingers were calloused from years of using a sword and the hard work that their group was doing in the villages. She pressed her thumb against his gently. "Can you feel that?"

He nodded and his thumb weakly pressed back against hers.

"Good."

Ao scurried up her arm and perched on her shoulder, the squirrel's fuzzy body warming her. She felt some of the tension go out of her now that she had seen Shin-Ah for herself. He wasn't dying, thanks to Yoon, but still…

"You should sleep," she said, "If you can." She picked up Ao and settled her down beside Shin-Ah. "You'll get better faster."

His thumb pressed against hers again. "Stay?"

Lien nodded and ran her thumb over his knuckles, soothing and gentle and calm. She would stay until he fell asleep or Yoon chased her out, whichever came first.


	28. Chapter 28

"Take it easy, Blue!"

Shin-Ah lowered his sword at Yoon's admonishing voice, cutting his practice short. Yes, he was more winded than he usually was, and his side ached, but he had been careful to not strain his stitches. It had been a few days since he had been wounded, and he had only been let out of the tent a day ago.

He turned toward the boy but didn't make excuses. Taking a few deep breaths, he sheathed his sword, using that as an answer. He could take a break for now.

This was the first time he had picked up his sword in all that time, possibly because of the pain it had brought the family that had lost their son. Perhaps if the boy hadn't brandished Shin-Ah's sword, he wouldn't have been killed. While Shin-Ah could not bring that child back, he could keep others from suffering a fate like that by using this sword for good.

He had tempered his exercises for his injury, but he still needed to train. His strength was diminished due to the wound, but he wasn't going to let himself be lazy.

"Lien, why didn't you stop him?" Yoon demanded, stomping over to the girl with hair the color of seafoam.

"Because I trust that he knows his limits," she said, not looking up from her work. She was perched on a log, a worn-out cloak laying across her lap. There was a bin of clothes that needed to be mended on one side of her and on the other, there was a basket of cloth swatches. She was patching the clothes of the villagers and keeping an eye on the meal that was bubbling in the nearby pot. Bringing the thread up to her mouth, she nipped the string with her teeth and then gave Yoon a fond smile. "He's not a little kid, Yoon."

"No, he's a stubborn beast," Yoon said, waving a hand at Shin-Ah. "Did you at least stretch before you practiced?"

Shin-Ah nodded. Of course he did, to an extent. As much as he needed to. Even though he had been with the group a long time, he was still getting to Yoon and the others fussing over him. He wasn't used to people being worried about him and caring for him.

Yoon frowned and gave a curt nod. "Fine." He swept into the tent and then came right back out, carrying a couple pouches with him. "I came back for supplies, but we'll be back for the stew soon, Lien."

"I thought so," Lien said, glancing over at the steaming pot of weak soup. It was made with anything edible that they were able to find growing in the Fire Tribe country, which wasn't much. They were probably all going to go hungry again tonight, which Shin-Ah was used to. Maybe there would be enough for Yona, Lien, and Yoon to eat, at least. And Ao.

The squirrel was curled up on Lien's shoulder, fast asleep, her tail brushing Lien's neck. She had been begging Lien for food earlier and had been rewarded for her efforts with a couple small acorns that Lien had kept stashed away from her.

Yoon walked past Lien, and Ao perked up, whiskers twitching, tail bobbing around. She scurried down Lien's arm and raced over to Yoon, leaping up and attaching herself to the boy's back.

"Tch, I'm not feeding you," Yoon said, but he smiled a little as the squirrel sat on his shoulder and chittered in his ear. He headed back toward the main part of the village, away from the outskirts where they had set up their tent.

They were still in the same village where Yona and Shin-Ah had been attacked, and they were using it as a base. Half of the time, the group was spread out in the nearby countryside, dealing with various villages and expanding their "territory." Being a bandit gang was hard work, especially when only Jae-Ha could move around quickly. They had considered confiscating horses from some Fire Tribe officials, but Hak and Yoon had agreed that would draw more attention. Besides, there was the fact that some of them had never ridden a horse before.

Shin-Ah walked over to the log that Lien was sitting and then plopped down on the ground in front of her. He was certain he smelled of sweat and dirt, and she had washed off at a river that morning. It was far away from the village, but she and Yona had walked there with Hak as a bodyguard. Since she smelled nice, he didn't want her to smell his stench.

"Here." He looked up to see her holding out a cup to him, water brimming to its edge. They had to be careful with the water they used since it was so far away from the village. Girls and women from the village walked to get water every day, and for some of them, it was a day long process, making two trips each day.

Shin-Ah shook his head. It was too much water for just him. Lien sighed and brought it up to her lips, taking a generous sip. She handed it back to him. "There. You shared, so now you drink the rest."

He looked at the cup, still thinking that was too much. Lien grabbed his hand and wrapped it around the cup. "I'm going to let go on the count of three, so if you don't take it, it's going to fall on the ground. One, two—"

Shin-Ah grabbed it with both hands and took a long drink from it, relishing the cool, refreshing water that had been sitting in the shade. Even though it was chilly here, he had worked up a sweat during that short practice. His wound was making him slow, clumsy. He would have to work through it. Finishing off the water, he set the cup down next to her.

"You can sit on the log, if you'd like." She glanced toward the empty space on the log, and he shook his head. He smelled too bad. Lien half-smiled. "Suit yourself." She tired off a knot in the cloth she was working on and bit the thread again. "Do you mind folding this?"

He shook his head again and carefully took the cloak from her. It was still worn out, but now there weren't any holes in it. While she picked out something new to work on, he folded up the cloak and set it in a third bin, the one for clothes that were fully mended.

For a while they sat in silence, Lien sewing and Shin-Ah folding clothes once she finished them. She seemed tireless since she had been working for a few hours now without stopping, but he noticed her slowing down and he could see the tiny little pricks that were starting to appear in her fingers. She was an entertainer…maybe she didn't mend clothes too often, even though she knew how. Or perhaps she was just tired.

"Mmph." She lifted her finger as a droplet of blood welled on her fingertip, and she squeezed it, drawing out more blood. "I need to be more careful." She popped her fingers in her mouth and stuck the needle into the shirt in her lap. Shin-Ah reached over and plucked the shirt away, nimbly fishing the needle out of it and hide it in the sleeve of his own cloak.

"Give that back," Lien said, pulling her finger from her mouth and reaching for the shirt. Shin-Ah held it out of her reach, and when she leaned forward, he leaned back, keeping it away. "Shin-Ah!"

"You need a break," he said, "You hurt your finger."

"It's fine, see?" She held up her hand, and blood dripped down the side of her forefinger. Shin-Ah dropped the shirt into his lap and snagged a cloth from the pile of scraps. Swiftly, he wrapped it around her finger and held it to the tiny wound, looking at her as if to say 'yeah right.'

"My finger's not going to fall off," she said, "And I need to work. Everyone's working so hard."

He looked over at the bubbling pot of soup and then to the baskets that surrounded her and to the bucket of water that she had hauled back from the river that morning. As if she hadn't been working just as hard as the others.

She shook her head. "Yes, I've done a little, but I can't stop. It's not right."

"I haven't done much."

"You've been healing," she said, scolding in her voice, "You need to get better before you can help much more. And you're folding clothes, so that's something." She sighed and tilted her head to the side, her soft, long hair dropping over her shoulder. "You push yourself too hard. You're like Kija in that."

He wasn't like Kija. He wasn't as loyal or good or bold as Shin-Ah. He wasn't as charismatic or world-wise or enigmatic as Jae-Ha. And he wasn't as friendly or warm or playful as Zeno. He was the strange dragon, the one in the mask. So, no, he wasn't like Kija, but it was nice that Lien thought he was.

She reached for the shirt again and he pulled the cloth around her finger a little tighter, a silent 'no.' Lien made a face and sat back, so he released her finger.

"A short break," she said, "Then I'm working again, and you can't stop me, Shin-Ah. It's just mending clothes."

Right, but everyone needed a small break once in a while. He kept the shirt in his lap and leaned back on his hands, glancing up at the clear blue sky. A hawk was circling overhead, its dark brown fingers sleek against its back, its golden eyes hard. Gold eyes a lot like his own, actually. Shin-Ah looked back down and saw Lien looking at the hilt of his sword peeking over his back.

"I hope I can get a weapon soon," she said, "Yona's learning to fight, so I should, too." She held up her hand and a gentle, tiny fire sprang to life, dancing in her palm. "I guess this is a weapon…" She closed her hand, extinguishing the flame. Her eyes were sad as she looked at Shin-Ah. "My family didn't want me to use it."

Shin-Ah froze. Her family didn't…want her to use it? But they hadn't been afraid of her and they hadn't locked her up or treated her differently than the rest of them. They had seemed kind and friendly.

"It wasn't that they didn't like it, it was because they were worried about me," she went on to say, "They thought if I used my gift, people that weren't from our caravan would see and want that power. And they did, the few times I accidentally used it." She shivered and wrapped her hand around one wrist, as if a bad memory was running through her mind.

Shin-Ah waited for her, not asking questions but letting her talk. "I should learn to use it now, though." She looked up from her hand and gave him a small smile. "We're all learning to use our gifts to help Yona, right?"

Gifts… He had always been told his power was a curse. It was certainly destructive when he unleashed it fully. But…Yona didn't think it was bad. And neither did Lien. Or the other dragons, Hak, or Yoon. They treated it like any other strange power.

"I should practice," she said, "Next time when you practice your sword, I'll practice with my fire. At least until I get a weapon, then I guess I'll practice with both." Her smile widened. "I can work on endurance."

Shin-Ah nodded. Her fire was beautiful, especially when it flickered around her hands, and he had seen her use it defensively up close back in the battle at the winter camp. And if she practiced while he did, he could keep an eye on her. She was fire-proof, mostly, but her clothes weren't. He didn't want her to get hurt or to exhaust herself.

 


	29. Chapter 29

Every day that their group spent in the Fire Tribe lands was long but fulfilling, giving each of them endless opportunities to help the villagers. No matter how much work they did, there was always new tasks in the morning. Chores, mending, repairing, rescuing, protecting, every day brought something new as well as more of the same.

Shin-Ah healed quickly, his wounds fading into new scars under Yoon's careful attention. Every day, he would exercise and go through sword katas while Lien sat nearby, working on sustaining her flames. She allowed the fire to dance over her palms, thread through her fingers, climb up her arms.

She had to avoid letting her clothes catch on fire, and Yoon took to sticking nearby while she practiced, a bucket of water sitting by his feet. Lien was careful since she had feeling that if she did catch something on fire, Yoon would douse her and then he and Shin-Ah would roll her around in the sand until all the flames were out.

By using Jae-Ha's ability, they were able to travel around their territory in the Fire Tribe and keep an eye on multiple villages. Sometimes they would split up and stay in different villages, but for the most part, they all would spend the night in the same village for safety and companionship.

Lien perched at the edge of a porch with a few village children sitting around her. She was braiding long pieces of dried out straw together, creating dolls out of the only thing she could find. There was a woman in their caravan who made dolls like this whenever they went through a place with long straw. She also had a tiny bag of scraps that the kids were using to make clothes and wraps for the dolls. Two little girls were comparing their dolls, which were basically bundles of straw that had been wrapped up like swaddled babies.

"Mine's named Eung," one of them said, cuddling the doll close.

"I'm naming mine Ti-Ti," the other girl said, patting her doll gently, "She's gonna be a bandit when she grows up."

Lien smiled and kept braiding, working on a more complicated doll for one of the older girls. They were all being very patient, probably because Lien had promised them these dolls if they stopped pestering Zeno about the ginger soup he was making. It was a weak, thin brew in any case, but they were running out of food in general.

Her stomach was empty, and she could've drained half of the pot all on her own, but she would wait until camp that night to eat. Yona and Hak were supposed to go hunting that afternoon, so there was a chance that there might be a tiny bit of meat for each of them, though the main portions would go to the villagers.

She leaned back against a rickety post, careful to not put too much of her weight on it. There were many repairs that needed to be made around the village, and she would have to make a note that this porch needed some attention.

With her fingers occupied, she took a moment to glance around the village. Everyone looked healthier than they had when the Happy Hungry Bunch had first shown up, and that had to be due to all the work everyone had been putting in, including the villagers. Everyone was working together trying to make life better, though she wondered how much things were going to change if the Fire Tribe itself wasn't willing to make some changes.

On the other end of the porch, Zeno was playing with a couple other kids and tending to the ginger soup. Soon he would start ladling it out for people, with the kids getting the first portions, then the sick and injured, and then anyone else. He would need her help with bowls and cups. He caught her looking and sent her a bright smile. "Make Zeno a doll. A yellow one!"

Lien laughed and wrapped a bit of straw around a small bunch, creating an arm. "They're all yellow," she said, shaking her head at him.

"Even better."

A man wandered toward them, looking exceptionally lost and out of place. With long hair, pointed features, and an aristocratic set to his face, he looked different than any of the other villagers. Long hair was a feature of the Fire Tribe army and the aristocrats, they picked it up from their general. She had seen the long-haired bun style often enough when her caravan had traveled through the Fire Tribe's capitol. Instantly wary, Lien watched him come closer, his eyes flicking from person to person as if he was looking for someone in particular. She brought up her hood, covering her light green hair, an unconscious habit that she had had for years.

"Hey," Zeno said as the man came closer, his gaze set on Lien. "You're a far way from home, aren't you?" His tone was teasing and light, but he was watching the newcomer closely.

"I…no, I live here," the man said, a definite city accent to his voice. Lien narrowed her eyes but kept working on the straw doll. She didn't know why he was there, but he certainly wasn't a local. The fact that he was so blatantly lying made her suspicious.

"Ah, got it," Zeno said, nodding, "Are you okay?"

"I don't feel well," the man said, even though he looked healthier than all of the villagers. Lien raised an eyebrow at Zeno, wondering where he was going with this. He grinned at her and then ladled some of their precious soup into a bowl.

"Here you go," Zeno said, holding the bowl out to the man, "Eat up."

The guy looked at the bowl in obvious disdain and then set it on the ground, close to where the kids were playing. "My stomach's upset," he said, frowning, "I don't think I should eat that."

The ravenous kids stared at him and then looked at the bowl, starvation apparent in the hollows of their faces. How dare he sit there and not eat that meal when they were so hungry.

"Can the kids eat it then?" Zeno asked, "If you're not hungry?"

"Um, sure," the guy said, shrugging. Three kids immediately descended on the bowl, draining it quickly. The guy looked disturbed by their behavior, as if he was completely confused by starving people.

While Zeno talked with the imposter, Lien left the porch, promising to come back and finish the dolls later. She was wondering where Shin-Ah and Kija were. Jae-Ha and Yoon were at another village, and Yona and Hak were out hunting. She didn't think that Zeno should be alone or that the guy should go unwatched.

She hurried through the village, making her way to where Shin-Ah had last been fixing one of the huts. Lien spotted him hammering a patch into place on a wall, Ao sitting on the ground nearby playing with a twig. Well, she was actually chewing on it. That squirrel tried to eat everything. When she spotted Lien, Ao dropped the twig and skittered over to her, pouncing on her dress and then scurrying up her clothes until she was on Lien's shoulder. Shin-Ah looked over at her and lowered the hammer, a question in his posture.

"Some strange guy showed up," she said, "He says he's from the village but he's lying."

Shin-Ah set the hammer down and stepped toward her. "You're sure?"

"Definitely," she said, "He's got long hair, like the Fire Tribe aristocrats. He might be a spy, I don't know." And the only reason there would be a spy in town would be if he was here to find them. But were they really such a nuisance that the army was actively hunting them down? They were steadily increasing their territory, so maybe? Lien didn't know much about military stuff, but she did know that people with power didn't like when you threatened that power. Maybe they were upsetting the Fire Tribe more than they realized.

Shin-Ah nodded and headed into the village, walking with Lien at his side. She stayed close, a couple sparks blossoming at her fingertips until Shin-Ah glanced at her hands. Taking a deep breath, she put out the fire, knowing it would be dangerous to let this man see it. But by the time they had gotten back to the porch, the man was gone.

"Where'd that guy go?" she asked, sitting down beside the blond. Shin-Ah stepped onto the porch and looked around, his eyes searching from behind his mask.

"The young lord's just wandering around," Zeno said with a smile, "Not sure exactly what he's looking for, but I bet he'll find it here."

Lien blinked and stared at him. "Young lord?"

"Yep," Zeno said, standing up.

"What? How do you know that?" she asked, tugging on his cloak. "Zeno!"

"Zeno just knows," he teased and then gave Shin-Ah a light shove, "C'mon, Seiryuu, let's go play tag with the munchkins!" Before Lien could question him any more, Zeno took off, dragging Shin-Ah with him. Lien sighed and ruffled Ao's fur, pulling the squirrel off her shoulder so she could cuddle it for a moment.

"Apparently I'm the only one concerned," she said with a sigh. Though knowing Kija, he was probably stalking the guy through the village by this point. Hopefully the white dragon would keep an eye on him.


	30. Chapter 30

The sun had set on the village and the night had grown cold when Shin-Ah saw a bright light erupt in the sky and shimmer out. He and Lien were sitting on the edge of a porch, enjoying the quiet moment and watching the stars bloom in the evening. But when the light flashed, Shin-Ah stood up and watched the explosion. He had seen a light like that enough times to know what it could mean.

The first time he had seen one had been during the time his village had moved to the mountains. It had been from a distance. It had looked like a flower of fire in the sky, and he had been brave enough to ask one of the village elders what it was. A firework, something people used to celebrate festivals and other events. But there was nothing to celebrate here.

The latest time one had been used was by Yoon and Yona during the battle on the sea outside of Awa. Fireworks could be used as a warning or an alert, a call to arms or a signal.

Someone had sent up a signal.

"What was that?" Lien asked, standing up beside him. Ao was perched on Lien's shoulder, and she perked up, ears popping forward and back.

"Firework," he replied.

"I know that, but why…" She frowned and looked around, her honey-colored eyes searching for something. "Who even has a firework around here."

"Let's go." He set off for their small camp, taking a couple steps before waiting for her to walk with him. They hurried through the small village, heading around dilapidated buildings and people who were starting to gather, talking about the firework explosion.

Yoon knew how to make fireworks, but he hadn't mentioned making any lately. There was no reason for it, in any case. Most likely it had been someone else, someone new, who had sent up the signal firework, and the only new person that Shin-Ah knew of was the stranger who had wandered into town earlier that day. Kija had taken up the job of watching the newcomer on his own accord, and he had seemed harmless, dazed and confused even. But apparently he wasn't as innocent as he appeared?

Shin-Ah and Lien were almost to the camp when something moving on the horizon caught his attention. Soldiers in Fire Tribe uniforms. He stopped to lift his mask for a better look, and a moment later Lien paused as well, turning back to him, eyes curious.

"What're you looking at?"

"The Fire Tribe army is coming," he said, counting the troops. Roughly sixty, plus twenty more on horseback. Too many. He lowered his mask and started toward the camp again, hurrying enough so that Lien had to job to keep up with his long stride. Normally, he would have simply slowed down for her, but there was no time. He trusted her to stay near him.

The scene at the camp was confusing. Hak had the stranger pinned up against a tree with his sword at the guy's throat while the guy cried, his eyes trained on Yona like she was his lifeline. He seemed less afraid of Hak and more obsessed with Yona. Shin-Ah didn't particularly care for that simpering expression of his. Kija must have felt even more strongly than Shin-Ah did since he was posed beside the man, giant claws at the ready, fury in his blue eyes. Jae-Ha and Zeno were also already at camp, along with Yoon, and no one looked particularly pleased.

Yona, however, was looking at Hak instead of the man, a small frown on her face. "What are we supposed to do?" she asked, "How many do you think will come here?"

"Let's just ask him," Hak said, pressing his blade in closer, "How many soldiers are on their way?"

"Sixty," Shin-Ah said before the man could answer, "And twenty mounted riders."

Everyone turned toward him, their eyes widening or hardening depending on who it was and how battle ready they were. Yoon gaped at him and flung a glare at the man Hak was threatening.

"You're bringing an entire troop to this village?!" he demanded, looking like he might actually be violent for once. "The only people here are the sick and elderly and kids!"

"Plus us," Jae-Ha said with a dark smirk, "I suppose they're coming for us. Am I correct, Mr. Second Born Son?"

Beside Shin-Ah, Lien sighed and put a hand to her forehead. "We should've tossed him out earlier."

"I agree," Kija said before bowing to Yona. "I'm sorry, princess, this is my fault. I knew he was suspicious." The look he shot at the man would have made other people cower, but the long-haired stranger only had eyes for Yona. His fixation on her was disconcerting.

"It's all right, Kija," Yona said, "I'm more concerned about how we're going to fix this."

"I'll go to them, I can stop them," the stranger said quickly, "It was an accident, I'll tell them that I didn't mean to set off the firework."

"And why would we trust you?" Yoon asked, his hands on his hips, "You're their leader, right? Don't you want to capture us?"

"No…" The man shook his head and dropped to his knees, nearly cutting his own neck on Hak's sharp blade. "I just…" More tears ran down his face, making him quite the pathetic figure. "I'm still so happy you're alive." He extended a hand to Yona as if he might touch her, and Shin-Ah unsheathed his sword while sparks danced around Lien's fingers. Both of them stepped forward and flanked Yona, a silent agreement between them to protect her.

"Tae-Jun," Yona said, shaking her head, and Shin-Ah stiffened. He knew that name from when Yona and Hak had told him about how they had met Yoon and started their journey. They had been trying to find the priest's home when they had been attacked by this man, Tae-Jun, and his soldiers. Tae-Jun had almost caused Yona and Hak's deaths when they had fallen over a cliffside during the fight with him. On Yona's other side, Lien's flames flickered brighter. She recognized the name as well.

"Tae-Jun, we're counting on you to do this," Yona said, reaching over and putting her hand on Shin-Ah's arm. "It's your fault this village is going to be attacked, and only you can call off the attack."

"I can stop it," he said again, "I will stop it."

"You must," Yona said, "If this village is attacked and the villagers hurt by your soldiers, I will personally kill you myself." The threat hung heavy in the air, the truth in the statement making it feel almost solid. The bow and quiver of arrows on Yona's back were not just for show. "If you can't call them off, this village and my friends will be in danger."

"Trust me to do this," Tae-Jun said, bowing lower before he climbed to his feet. His face was a mess of snot and tears, and he rubbed his sleeve across his cheeks, wiping some of the grime away.

Yona nodded. "We'll be watching, Tae-Jun."

Shin-Ah looked out across the plains, to where the soldiers and horses were still marching toward the tiny village. With that force, they might even overwhelm the dragons and Hak, though they would suffer for it. The sound of drums slowly grew, the rhythm one meant for battle. Shin-Ah held his sword defensively, ready for the fight, doubting that the man, Tae-Jun, would be able to get to the troops in time. The archers were already preparing a volley.

"We should move back," he cautioned.

"Trust me, Princess Yona!" Tae-Jun yelled, his face a mask of determination as he sprang toward the plains, racing toward the soldiers. He started shouting at them almost immediately, demanding they cease their attack.

Shin-Ah didn't move from his protective spot beside Yona, still thinking they should move out of range of the arrows. He lifted his mask again, watching Tae-Jun run through the darkness, almost getting himself shot full of arrows. Amazingly, though, something he said must have gotten the attention of the soldiers because they stopped. After a few painfully long moments, the troops turned and started moving away.

"They're leaving," Shin-Ah said, hardly believing that had worked.

"He did it!" Zeno said, pumping a fist in the air.

"He almost got us all killed!" Yoon said. He made a face at Zeno. "Don't forget whose fault it was in the first place!"

"It's Hak's, he startled him into dropping that firework," Jae-Ha said, earning himself a steely glare from Hak.

"Thank goodness that worked," Yona said. She gave a sigh of relief.

Lien's flames dissipated and she whipped toward Yona's, her light green hair flying about her face. "Wasn't that the guy who almost got you and Hak killed?!"

"Yes," Yona said, blinking as Lien stepped toward her, "Why?"

"Aren't you mad at him?" Lien asked, incredulous. Ao leapt from her shoulder to Yona's head as Lien flung her arms into the air in frustration. "You didn't act mad at all!"

"I did threaten to shoot him," Yona said, tapping her finger to her lips, "But I ended up not having to do that. Which I think is good."

Lien looked over at Hak, who still looked angry about the whole situation, and then back at Yona. She looked confused, like she didn't understand their reactions.

"That was more excitement than I was looking for tonight," Jae-Ha said. He sat down beside the fire, his back to the village, looking out toward the plains. "It's made me hungry."

"Hungry is our middle name," Zeno chirped. He dropped down beside the fire as well, his back to the plains. "What are we eating, boy?" He looked at Yoon expectantly, and the fifteen-year-old made a face.

"I haven't had a chance to cook, go to sleep and dream of food," Yoon said, but he was already setting up to cook their meager meal. Shin-Ah kept an eye on the troops until they completely disappeared. He didn't trust them to stay away, but there was no sign of them at the moment. They would need to keep a close watch on the horizon throughout the night, and Shin-Ah knew he would be awake for most of the night. Maybe Lien would stay up with him.

She often did when he took a long watch. She was nice company, and she was still teaching him the constellations, pointing out each bunch of stars. He was starting to recognize some of them, though he doubted he would ever remember them like she did. Jae-Ha did. Jae-Ha knew the stars like Lien, but Shin-Ah would rather learn them from Lien. She told the stories that went along with the stars, and she didn't tease him when he got them wrong. And he liked how she was patient and quiet and traced the invisible lines with her finger, sometimes lifting his hand so he could trace them with her. Her hand was soft and gentle, so unlike his rough, callused fingers, worn from using the sword every day. Though the hard work was beginning to give her calluses as well. But that was nice, too, in its own way. She worked hard and had earned those calluses.

So he guessed he just liked when their hands touched, no matter if her hands were soft or worn.


	31. Chapter 31

"I don't like him."

"Doesn't matter. Yona thinks he's okay, so he's got a free pass."

"I still don't have to like him," Lien said petulantly, her eyes narrowed at the skinny lordling who was following Yona through the village like some kind of droopy lovesick puppy. Tae-Jun had been showing up in the village every other day with food and gear which he kept trying to give to Yona but she would in turn give it to the villagers, not keeping any for herself.

To Lien, it looked like he was any other young noble who thought he could win over a girl with trinkets and baubles. She had seen her fair share of them in the city, and she also knew what they were like when those gifts didn't buy the affection that they sought. So she watched the lordling with suspicion as he hovered around Yona, a pompous pretty moth drawn to Yona's bright inner fire.

Next to her, Yoon looked half-amused and half-grumpy. He was rolling bandages so he could take them to another village with Jae-Ha once the green dragon returned from his current errand. Jae-Ha was often gone these days, roaming around the countryside, checking on the villages they had claimed as Happy Hungry territory.

It made Lien a little nervous whenever Jae-Ha went out alone. What if he got caught by a patrol? Wouldn't they tear him apart if he was severely outnumbered? But the last time she had made the mistake of looking worried when he left, he had teased her, which meant she now always made a point to look stoic when he headed out. Dumb green dragon. She was fond of him, much like she was fond of her older brother. While they were worlds apart personality away, they both had that protective streak and would do anything for the people they cared about. And that determination and fearless loyalty made her worry about him and what he would do to protect them.

"I don't like him either, if that helps," Yoon said, sticking another roll of cloth into his bag, "But we don't have much of a choice."

"He simpers. I can't stand it when people simper," Lien said. She snagged a piece of cloth and started cutting it with a knife, slicing it into wide strips. "And he's only helping because he wants Yona to pay attention to him."

"At least he's helping," Yoon said, rolling his eyes, "And not getting his army to pounce on us."

"I don't like that, either," Lien said, still frowning. Yoon took the end of a strip she had cut and she started rolling it tight, the two of them working together in sync. "He could tell his men to come get us any time."

"I think he likes Yona too much to do that, but I agree, it puts us in a weird position," Yoon said. He glanced over at where Tae-Jun was helping Yona pass out some he had brought from the barracks. "I want to be able to trust him, but I don't see that happening any time soon."

"Ditto," Lien said, "He's like a snake just waiting for the right minute to strike."

"Kirin's being so harsh to the young lord," Zeno's voice broke in. He rounded the corner, carrying one of the village kids on his back. He grinned at Lien as he set the kid on the ground. "So suspicious."

"He almost got the village attacked last week, and now he's acting like he's our friend, or if not that, at least an alley," Lien said, "He acts suspicious, so he's earning my suspicion."

"I think the young lord's trying the best he can," Zeno said. He sat down beside Yoon and snagged a few rolls of cloth from the bag and began to juggle them. "He doesn't know how to be a very good person yet, so he's trying to be a decent person. He's figuring it out."

Lien looked down at the cloth she was rolling, feeling like she was being very gently scolded or corrected. Still, she couldn't bring herself to like Tae-Jun. "You're not worried about him at all, Zeno?"

"Not enough to worry over it," Zeno said. He juggled the bundles of cloth for another minute, at least until Yoon leveled him with a long, meaningful look. Then he just smiled and popped the cloth rolls back into the bag. "He won't do anything to hurt the young miss."

"But the rest of us are free game," Yoon said.

Zeno shook his head. "No, because he knows if he hurt us, he would hurt the young miss." Zeno spread his hands open and shook his head. "He doesn't know how to care, but he's learning."

"I'll believe it when I see it," Lien said. She had seen nobles pretend to be good in order to get into someone's good graces and then turn their leaf right back over when a deal was done or a marriage was sealed. Time spent in noble households with the caravan had taught her a few things, though in some ways, she knew she was still naïve about the world. However, nobles were something she knew about, to a degree.

Zeno reached over and ruffled her hair, an affectionate gesture. "So Kirin will see."

Lien made a face and kept rolling, keeping her hands occupied as her mind wandered. If the lordling did turn on them, they would need to protect the villagers. She was practicing every day with her fire, but she still wasn't confident about using it as a true weapon after spending so long keeping it from strangers. In a pinch, she could make it work, but she knew she needed more time to hone her skills and abilities. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that any time soon.

With the three of them working together, they were able to roll up all of the bandages and get them packed away inside of Yoon's bag. Once everything was put away, Lien stood up and stretched, leaning back and raising her arms into the air. The atmosphere of the village was slowly shifting away from one of despair to one of tentative hope. She didn't want to see that crushed by the Fire Tribe soldiers if this little lord decided he didn't like how Yona treated him. Which, actually, Yona treated him kindly.

It was Hak, Kija, and Jae-Ha that stalked him through the village whenever they were around. Shin-Ah didn't participate in the stalking. He hung back and let Yona make her own decisions, though he had told Lien the other night that he did not really like Tae-Jun's presence either. He just wasn't going to tell Yona who she could or could not be around. It wasn't in his nature, which meant he wasn't going to hunt Tae-Jun down or keep an extra close on him, though he had been more cautious the first few days that the young lord had been around. Now he seemed more used to him hanging about the village.

With the task completed, Lien left Yoon and Zeno and headed out into the village, looking for a new chore. Somewhere in the distance, she could hear hammering. She guessed it was Hak, who was sought-after for his ability to hammer without bending the nails. Kija had almost broken the last house he had attempted to do carpenter work for, Jae-Ha was away, and Shin-Ah still unnerved the older people in the village. They seemed to have problem with his mask, though the kids had really taken to him even though they preferred Zeno over all of the Happy Hungry Bunch members.

Lien checked a few of the community water pots and saw that they were low. The only river was a two-hour walk there and back from the village, and she wasn't supposed to go alone. It was too dangerous. Besides, if she was the only one who went, she wouldn't be able to gather that much water.

Luckily she knew someone who would go with her.

An hour later, she and Shin-Ah reached the edge of the slow-moving river. With the whole area in a drought, it was hardly a river, more of an over-sized creek. Still, it was water, and the village needed it. Ao took hold of Lien's hair as she stepped down to the river bank, her eyes on the water. The walk had been long and cold, the wind ripping over the plains. Kneeling down, she dipped her hand into the water and offered a sip to the squirrel. The tiny fluffy creature patted her paws in the water and then dunked her face into it.

"Greedy cheeks," she teased, poking Ao in the side. The squirrel lifted her head and splashed the water, enjoying herself. Lien laughed and turned her face away as droplets of water hit her cheek.

Shin-Ah bent down beside Lien and started filling the containers they had brought. She noticed he only filled the two pots that she would carry only halfway. Part of her wanted to tell him to fill them all the way, but they both knew she wasn't strong enough to carry them. Once the pots were full, he put them in a line on the river bank and looked around, ever watchful.

"See anything?" she asked, wiping off Ao so the squirrel wouldn't get cold. While it wasn't snowy here in the Fire Tribe county, it was still chilly.

Shin-Ah shook his head and walked over to her. "No patrols."

"Maybe they're scared of the Happy Hungry Bunch," Lien said as he sat down beside her. She thought of how menacing the dragons and Hak could appear. It was strange to see them in battle mode when she was so used to seeing them around the fire, with Kija fussing about bugs and Jae-Ha teasing Hak and Hak being sardonic. And Shin-Ah, a quiet, gentle presence in the background. But when there was a fight? The enemy was right to be afraid. "Our name is sooo intimidating."

Shin-Ah glanced at her and then nodded. "Very."

Lien narrowed her eyes at him and then realized he was joking too. She bit her lips and then grinned at him. So Shin-Ah was growing a sense of humor. A tiny one, but there it was.

Ao trotted up Lien's arm and curled up against her neck, stealing some of her heat. Lien reached up and scratched the squirrel's ears as she and Shin-Ah rested, taking a moment before going back to the village. It was quiet and the wind whistled across the plains, brushing through the dead grass. It was desolate but almost relaxing in its silence.

Lien leaned back on her palms, looking up at the grey sky. Something inside her told her that her future would not have many quiet moments like this, that there was peril and worry ahead, but for right now? She was going to enjoy the moment and the company.

 


	32. Chapter 32

"Lien, I have something for you."

It was evening, and Jae-Ha had just landed at the edge of their camp, dusty from a day of traveling around the countryside. The fake bandit crew was sitting around their camp fire outside of one of the Fire Tribe villages. They were all together, which did not happen all too often lately. Usually they were spread out, a few of them in one village and the rest in another, in an effort to protect multiple places. However, Tae-jun was starting to change things with the military, so there was less of a threat from the troops.

Shin-Ah looked up from where he was sitting next to Zeno, the two of them playing the hand game that involved slapping the ground and animal names. Zeno had won every round, but Shin-Ah was learning about new animals, ones he had never heard of before. Whenever he looked at Zeno questioningly, the blond always described the animal.

Jae-Ha crossed through their camp as Lien stood, up, brushing her dress off. She had been helping Yoon fix their meager soup and had been shredding herbs with her fingers. Bits of herbs fell from her dress at the touch of her fingers. She looked at Jae-Ha, curious. "What is it?"

Jae-Ha grinned. "Guess."

Lien rolled her eyes. "Can you just tell me?"

"A puppy!" Zeno called out, looking excited at the possibility.

"Better not be a dog," Hak said. He and Yona were nearby, practicing swordplay. Or, well, Yona was practicing by attempting to hit Hak's sword while he easily dodged her attacks.

"I think we have enough beasts in general," Yoon said, making a face, "Not even including the squirrel." At the moment, Ao was waiting not so patiently on Yoon's shoulder, watching him with keen eyes. She obviously wanted a generous portion of the soup.

"It's not an animal, that's a terrible waste of a guess," Jae-Ha said.

"Wait, there are limited guesses?" Kija asked, frowning.

"Lien hasn't even guessed yet," Yoon added, glancing up from the pot of soup. "I don't think anyone else's guess counts."

"Maybe it's sweets, like candy," Zeno said. His stomach growled, and Shin-Ah looked at him for a moment. They were all hungry, but Zeno loved food the most out of any of them. He never complained, though.

"Not sweets," Jae-Ha said. He smirked and turned on his heel until he was facing Lien. "What have you been wanting?"

"For you to stop teasing me," she said, "That's what I would want right now."

"Now, see, that's a boring guess," Jae-Ha said.

"If you're not going to tell me—" She started to sit back down, but Jae-Ha stepped to her side and pulled something from his coat. There was a metallic shing as the object opened and caught the firelight. It seemed to glow red-orange for a moment, reflecting the flames.

Shin-Ah stood up as Lien's eyes grew wide. "A bladed fan," she said, reaching out to touch it with her fingertips. There was a design on the fan, a spray of blossoms and a tree limb, delicate and finely etched into the metal.

"I told you I'd find you a fan," Jae-Ha said, grinning, "And here it is."

"Who'd you kill to get it?" Hak asked. He and Yona had paused their fight to wander over, Yona darting to Lien's side while Hak stood behind Jae-Ha's shoulder.

"No one," Jae-Ha said, "I simply asked for it."

"That doesn't seem likely," Yoon put in. He glanced over at the pretty new weapon and shook his head. "Lien has fire, does she need a weapon?"

"I think it'll work well with that fire of hers," Jae-Ha said, snapping the fan closed. It was loud and startling, and Kija frowned as he jumped a little at the sound. Jae-Ha grinned. "It has multiple uses. And it looks nice."

"Because looking nice is necessary for a good weapon," Hak said sarcastically.

"Says the man with a striking staff sword," Yoon said, stirring the pot of soup methodically and earning a sideways glance from the ex-general.

Jae-Ha pulled the fan away, closing it before he handed it to Lien. "Be very careful of the end, it's sharp."

She took it gingerly into her hands and opened it slowly, letting each segment of it unfold. Shin-Ah stepped closer to her, keeping an eye on the bladed edge. He could see that it had been honed until it was as sharp as a razor and just as deadly. It would be a formidable weapon, but he was honestly of the same opinion as Yoon. Lien had her fire and that was enough, wasn't it? They had been practicing together almost every day, and each day she improved on her endurance and skill. This would just complicate matters.

"It really is beautiful," Lien said, closing it again, "I've only used a fan to dance with and never a bladed one…"

Jae-Ha held a leather sheath out to her, one that could be easily attached to the sash she wore around her waist. "I told you, I'll teach you." He smiled. "You'll catch on fast. You said you wanted a weapon, right?"

Lien nodded. She took the leather sheath, running her thumb over the etching on the case. "Thank you, Jae-Ha."

"You're very welcome, dear." He reached out and ruffled her hair, making her wrinkle her nose.

The leather sheath and the fan in her hands, Lien turned toward Shin-Ah, looking up at him with excitement in her eyes. "What do you think?" She spread the fan out a little, letting him see some of the design. "It's pretty, right?"

It was like she wanted his approval, but Shin-Ah wasn't sure, so he stood there unmoving. He saw a bit of her excitement die.

"It's just for defense," she said, putting the fan into the sheath, "And I think it's nice."

She was certainly entitled to her own opinion. His opinion was simply that she didn't need it. She could fight well enough without a blade, and something like that would make her even more of a target in a fight. While most people wouldn't fight someone who was unarmed, if she had a bladed weapon…

They looked at each other for a long moment, neither of them saying anything. Finally, Lien bit her lip, lifted her chin, and marched over to Yona. Yona reached out and took her wrist, and together the two girls went to the edge of the clearing, sitting down behind some rocks. Hak glanced at Shin-Ah, shook his head, and followed them.

By the fire, Ao dashed off, chasing after the two girls as well. For his part, Shin-Ah had no idea what he had done wrong, but he could tell that Lien wasn't happy with him.

An arm fell over his shoulders, and Jae-Ha tutted in his ear. "That, little dragon brother, was not a smart response."

Shin-Ah started. What? He hadn't really responded at all, so he wasn't sure what Jae-Ha meant. He looked at the green-haired man, his eyes wide behind his mask. It wasn't…He hadn't…

"Why?" he finally asked, bewildered.

"She wanted you to say that you liked it," Yoon said. He was still stirring the pot of soup, but he spared Shin-Ah an exasperated look. "I know you're sort of new at interacting with people, but that's something you should have picked up on."

"She needed encouragement, not silence," Jae-Ha said, patting Shin-Ah's shoulder. "You could have at least nodded."

Oh. But he didn't like the weapon. He didn't want her using it. "She shouldn't."

"Need encouragement? Everyone needs that—"

"Use that," Shin-Ah said, "She has fire."

"But using it makes her tired," Jae-Ha countered.

"But she could hurt herself on the bladed fan," Kija put in, "She's never used one before."

"That's why she'll train, just like Yona does," Jae-Ha said. He slung his arm off of Shin-Ah's shoulders and put his hands on his hips. "Girls are beautiful, delicate flowers, but they can also have thorns. Don't belittle them."

Shin-Ah wanted to fold in on himself or at least hide behind the fur from his mask. He hadn't meant to belittle Lien. He thought she was amazing, he just didn't want her to get hurt. Or even need to fight in the first place. He could protect her.

"Seiryuu didn't mean to hurt Kirin's feelings," Zeno said. He appeared beside Shin-Ah, a bright smile on his face. "He just cares about her."

Shin-Ah nodded. That was right. He ran the toe of his boot across the ground, wondering how he was going to explain that to her. He hadn't meant to hurt her feelings or anything, if that was the case. He would try to talk to her later, once he figured out exactly what he wanted to say.


	33. Chapter 33

Later that evening, Lien was perched on a rock at the outskirts of their camp, the metal fan spread out in her lap. Jae-Ha had promised to start giving her lessons the next day, which was sweet of him. She guessed that she would have to switch lessons with Shin-Ah for lessons with Jae-Ha, since Shin-Ah seemed annoyed about her new weapon.

She had known that he hadn't totally liked the idea of her arming herself, but she had hoped that maybe his opinion had changed or that he would at least see that it was important to her. But instead he had sort of stared in a way that she knew meant he wasn't entirely happy.

Sliding one foot down the rock, she leaned back on her arms, palms against the cool stone. Overhead, the sky was overcast so there weren't any stars and the moon wasn't visible. It was a dark night, not very inviting. She was technically on watch, but she knew that at least one other person would be awake as well. For some reason, she, Yona, and Yoon weren't allowed to be on watch by themselves, though she thought it was more out of sense of protectiveness than that the others thought they would fall asleep or anything.

She also knew that it was probably protectiveness that made Shin-Ah dislike her new weapon. Having the fan and learning to use it meant that she would fight in the future, but honestly, she was fighting now. And her fire already made her a target.

Sitting up, she lifted a hand and called on the flames within her. A lick of fire sprang to life in her palm and began to dance in the light breeze, wafting back and forth as if it had a life of its own. She was getting better at keeping the flame active and alive, and she was starting to practice making it take certain shapes.

Focusing, she had it turn into a wavering circle, the middle of it open. It was big enough that Ao would have been able to jump through it without getting scorched.

As if she had thought the squirrel into being, she appeared, scrambling up the side of the rock and bounding into Lien's lap. She closed her hand around the flame, snuffing it, before she picked up the squirrel.

"What're you doing here?" she asked, bringing Ao up to her cheek so the squirrel could nuzzle her. She thanked her by scratching gently behind her teeny curved ears.

A soft noise made her look up and she nearly yelped. Shin-Ah was standing only four feet away from her, the wind tugging at the white strands of fur from his mask. She put her free hand to her heart, trying to steady its suddenly rapid beating.

"You scared me!" she said, shaking her head, "You shouldn't sneak up on people…"

"I didn't mean to," he murmured.

Of course he hadn't. Shin-Ah didn't seem the type to purposefully scare someone, not like Jae-Ha or Hak, who would've both relished the chance.

Lien looked down at him, uncertain about why he was there. Unconsciously, she closed the fan and brought it close, sticking it in its sheathe at her side. From now one, she wouldn't be going anywhere without that fan, much like how Shin-Ah was rarely found without his sword.

Both of them were silent, and Shin-Ah became a blue-tinged shadow into the darkness, he was so still. In her hands, Ao turned a circle and then flopped over, nestling up against her fingers.

"I don't want you to have to fight."

Shin-Ah's voice was soft and sincere as it broke the quiet of the night. Lien lifted her head and looked at his shadowy figure, finding it difficult to see his mask in the darkness. She stayed silent, not wanting to interrupt him if he had more to say.

He took a step closer to the rock, his boot scraping against the rough, dry earth. "I know you must. We all do. But I…wish you didn't have to."

"I don't want you to have to fight, either, really," Lien said, "But we all have to keep each other safe, and this fan is just another way for me to do that."

Shin-Ah gave a gentle sigh. "I know."

He hadn't meant to hurt her feelings earlier, he just hadn't known how to express himself. It seemed like a running theme with him, probably because he was so isolated when he was younger.

She reminded herself that she needed to try to be understanding whenever Shin-Ah did something outside of the norm and help him along. She would need to explain herself rather than just thinking he would infer from something she did.

Lien glanced over at him. "Do you want to sit on the rock too?"

She could barely tell, but he did nod, so she moved over, clearing up some space on her rock. Looping her arms around her legs, she looked up at the cloudy sky. It probably wouldn't rain. Yoon had said that the drought in the Fire Tribe's lands had been going on for years. Still, she wished that it would storm or at least let out a gentle shower.

"Too bad I don't have water powers," she said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, "I feel like I'd be more useful."

"Fire is good," Shin-Ah said after a few quiet moments.

"It's destructive."

Shin-Ah held up one finger. "Warmth." Another finger. "Cooking." Another finger. "Light."

Most likely he would have kept going he Lien hadn't cut in with a laugh. "All right, I see your point. But right now, water powers would have been nice."

"Yes," he said, "I know."

There was something almost sad in his voice, and she turned to look at him closer. Did he ever wish for a different one of the dragon powers? Or for no powers at all? He seemed scared of his own gift, and it was a formidable one. She hadn't seen him use it the way Yona had, but it seemed extremely powerful. Maybe even more so than Jae-Ha's leg or Kija's arm. No one was exactly sure what Zeno's ability was, and he wasn't exactly forthcoming with the information.

Reaching over, she gently put her hand on his arm for a moment. "Thank you for talking to me."

Shin-Ah nodded. "I'm sorry. For earlier."

"It's all right," she said, "I think it was more of a misunderstanding than anything."

Ao jumped from her shoulder to Shin-Ah's hands, and he cupped the squirrel in his palms.

Silence spilled between them again, but it wasn't so awkward this time.

 


	34. Chapter 34

Daily life roaming between the villages and helping out where they could was becoming their norm, so it was surprising when one day Yoon said he wanted to go north, into the Kai Empire. The announcement came while they were all sitting around a campfire, eating a very nice meal that their resident cook had prepared. It caused a quick freeze among the rest of the group.

"It'll be dangerous up there," Hak said, the first one to start moving again. He shifted from his perch beside Yona so he could get a better look at the strawberry blond boy. "And it won't be an easy journey to get there."

"I know," Yoon said, "But I heard a rumor in the village today that I want to investigate." He looked over at Lien, who was sitting between Kija and Shin-Ah, her bowl of soup in her hands. "Have you heard or seen any kind of crop in the Kai Empire that could be grown here? That's what I heard today, that there was something like that in the Kai Empire."

Lien tightened her grip on the bowl and looked at Yoon, her eyes becoming distant as she pondered on the question. Had she seen anything like that? Most of the time, they avoided the countryside and kept to the cities, where their plays and dances and songs would be rewarded. Honestly, most of the small villages couldn't afford to take the time away from farming or herding or harvesting in order to watch a play. On the occasions when they did stop in little villages, they didn't question where the food came from, and she had never personally had a lot of interest in farming.

"I can't think of anything," Lien said, "But they were at least better off than the villages we've see here."

"What do you mean?" Kija asked.

"People aren't starving like they are here," she replied, "There's food, I just don't know where it comes from."

"What, you didn't think to investigate the farming habits of the Kai Empire?" Jae-Ha teased, "Shame on you."

Lien rolled her eyes, knowing he was teasing her. "Haven't you seen anything, jumping around on that leg of yours?"

"Mmm, good question, but no," Jae-Ha said, then raised one finger, "Unless there are fish in the rivers."

"Too small," Yoon said, "The drought hasn't done them any favors." He shook his head and then looked to Yona. "I'll probably be gone for a few months."

"We can take the time for that," Yona said without missing a beat, "We have to help these people in a more impactful way, and I think the Happy Hungry Bunch has done as much as it can without finding something long term."

Yoon blinked. "Did you say we?"

"You didn't think we'd let you go alone, did you," Hak said. It was his turn to roll his eyes at Yoon's surprised expression. "Come on, Yoon."

"We go where Princess Yona goes," Kija said, taking on that regal tone again.

"And I don't think any of us would let you go off by yourself," Jae-Ha said with a smirk. Shin-Ah nodded and Yoon grinned.

Yoon looked as if he was going to cry, and he wiped quickly at his eyes with the cuff of his sleeve. "You guys are all stupid, you shouldn't follow me into another country. It's not safe."

"For you, sure," Jae-Ha said, "It'll be a cakewalk for us." That earned him a sideways look from Hak.

"It's not really up for debate, in any case," Yona said, smiling. She reached out and put a hand on Yoon's arm. "We're definitely going."

"Then we're going to have to come up with a good plan," Yoon said. He started rummaging around in his bag, and Lien smiled. Yoon's satchel was practically bottomless, or so it seemed. It was crammed full of spices, gear, herbs, medical supplies, and anything Yoon thought they would need on their journey. Plus he tossed in whatever he thought they could trade along the way.

He produced a folded up, slightly crumpled piece of thick paper. Unfolding the map, he set it down on the ground near the fire. The lines were dark enough that the map could be read by firelight, but honestly, Shin-Ah was most likely the only one who could properly see it. Still, Yoon seemed so determined about the whole thing, no one mentioned it to him. Placing rocks on the four corners to keep it in place, Yoon put down a tiny stone in the Fire Tribe's section of the map.

"This is where we're at," he said, pointing to the stone. "And I think we should go straight north, through the mountains to this small village in the Kai Empire." He pointed to an itty bitty, almost invisible dot on the map. Lien couldn't even read the name in this light.

"That used to be part of Kouka Kingdom," Hak said, crouching down and gesturing toward the map.

"I think it's gone back and forth between the two countries for a long time," Zeno said, "Or that's what I've heard."

Lien glanced at the yellow haired dragon, noticing his use of first person instead of his usual third person. He only did it every now and then, and it seemed almost random but not quite. He only used first person when he was being serious. Otherwise, he referred to himself in the third person, and he never called any of them by their names. It was always their titles or nicknames he had made up for them. Maybe he was distancing himself, somehow? It just seemed strange since otherwise he was so warm and friendly. Maybe it was nothing and she was being silly.

Zeno must have noticed her looking at him oddly because he smiled at her and then stuck his tongue out, teasing her. She rolled her eyes but grinned back at him. Yeah, she was just being silly. Zeno didn't have any reason to keep them at bay. It was just a weird habit of his, sort of like how he would randomly decide Shin-Ah needed to play with him or something like that.

"That's right," Hak said, tracing a circle around the small village, "This area was Fire Tribe territory, but it was given to the Kai Empire…" He trailed off and pointedly didn't look at Yona. It had been handed over to the Kai Empire by King Il due to his pacifist views so the Kai Empire wouldn't attack Kouka. King Il had kept the country out of war but he had also severely weakened the kingdom during his reign.

While her family had traveled through various surrounding countries, Lien had heard a lot of gossip about Kouka, and a lot of it centered around the king. Everyone knew he was a peaceful man, but in the eyes of many, that made him weak. A pushover, a flower, a coward. Whenever anyone spoke about King Il, it was usually disparagingly.

He was not a respected man in the neighboring countries, and traveling around Kouka was not much better. People were starving everywhere, jobs were scarce, markets were bare. It was a poor country except in the five main cities, and even in those places, people suffered. But Yona had loved him.

"This village should have a similar climate and soil to the villages we've visited," Yoon said, "And if they're prospering, there must be a reason for it."

"Seems worth the trip," Jae-Ha said, "But it'll take a couple weeks."

"If not longer," Yoon said, "Seeing how winter's here and we'll be traveling across mountains again. I think we'll be gone at least a month or two."

"We have time," Kija said, "Unless you feel otherwise, Princess?"

Yona shook her head. "I would like to be back before Spring if we can find a crop to plant, but I think it'll be fine. You really feel like there's something to see there, Yoon?"

"I do," he said firmly.

"What's the Kai Empire like, Lien?" Jae-Ha asked, "You're the only who's been there."

Lien shrugged. "It's massive. I've never traveled to the northern half of it, but you could fit multiple Koukas into Kai… The culture shifts depending on where you go, but all of the provinces technically answer to the emperor. Most of the cities deal in luxury goods, but they have a lot of rare resources as well." She half-smiled. "We didn't spend a lot of time in the countryside."

"Think we'll blend in?" Jae-Ha teasingly ran his fingers through his long green ponytail.

Lien glanced around the group. Super tall Hak with his handsome face and his sword staff thing. White-haired Kija with his claw hand. Green hair flirt Jae-Ha with his jumping ability. Zeno's yellow hair and outgoing personality, Yoon and his apricot hair and insatiable curiosity, Yona with that bright red hair and unwillingness to back down from helping others. Shin-Ah with a mask, and a sword, and a squirrel and blue hair. And her own light green hair and spontaneous fires…

She blew out a breath, fluttering a piece of hair that had fallen into her face. "Oh, sure. Why wouldn't we."


End file.
